


Home Again: Find Your World

by iHateFridays



Series: Home Again [2]
Category: Poptropica (Video Game)
Genre: Fanfiction, Friendship, OCs - Freeform, Poptropica, Sequel, VideoGame, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2019-07-02 18:40:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 35,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15802326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iHateFridays/pseuds/iHateFridays
Summary: SEQUEL TO HOME AGAIN! Finally, Alice is feeling more confident in herself with new friends, a new life... but just as things are looking up a new threat emerges as well as a new prophecy, and now there isn't much time left for Alice to save both her world and Poptropica once again... [Cover: http://fav.me/dckkg7g]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: WHOOHOO FIRST CHAPTER OF THE SEQUEL! HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY AND GET READY FOR MORE OF THE STORY SOON!
> 
> Also, check out my deviantART iHateFridays for the sequel's cover! :D

~ALICE~

I woke up, feeling... pretty good. Today was a special day. I stretched, climbing out of bed. My room had become a little more colourful since I was younger; there were photos on the walls and colourful curtains, turning the sunlight various shades of blue and green. Schoolwork was covering my desk. But I wasn't worried about that today. I opened my bedroom door, and saw my mum smiling at me from downstairs.

Today was my birthday!

"Happy Birthday, Alice!" My mother grinned, holding out her arms.

"Thanks, Mom." I said, walking down the stairs to give her a hug.

"Sweet sixteen, huh?" Mom laughed. She sighed, shaking her head. "Only two more years until you're an adult..."

"Heh, yeah..." I said, faintly blushing. "And after all... I can start learning how to drive now."

I shivered. Despite everything I'd been through in Poptropica, learning to drive in the real world scared me. Especially since... well, I promised myself one thing. I would be a safe driver. And I'd stay calm. I hoped, anyway.

"Yes..." Mom looked nervous. She chuckled. "Well, anyway, it's your birthday! Your friends are coming over, right?"

"Yeah," I smiled. "Marcus and Chrissi."

Ironically, only two years ago Chrissi and I had been enemies. After Louisa died, however, we managed to turn things around and became pretty good friends. A nerdy kid called Marcus also joined the friendship group, and now we were basically the Golden Trio. Some people might have wanted twenty friends but those two were enough for me. I was happy with it. Quality over quantity, right? And besides, I had plenty more friends in Poptropica.

Poptropica... it had been a long time. I still frequently thought about my friends in there, and the new prophecy. It was scary... but I was ready. I hoped so, anyway. It had been awhile, after all. How was everyone?

That reminded me of something else...

Poptropica Worlds.

I, like many others, preferred the original game. The sound and music (and hands I guess) were all good but it was missing that vibe from the old game. Plus, no new islands had come out for a while. Despite all that, I didn't hate the new version and I actually liked the house feature. I mean, yeah, the fandom was dying because of it, but y'know. The creators just needed to update. (At least they didn't delete the original game like Club Penguin did)

I wondered what my friends thought of Poptropica Worlds. Did Fierce Fox like the hands and shoes? What about Mighty Penguin? I'd have to ask when I eventually returned to Poptropica.

But for now, it was time to focus back on my birthday. My friends and I were going to a theme park, then we were going to stuff ourselves with junk food. We were probably going to be sick afterwards but it was my birthday, and everyone lets go on their birthday, right? I wasn't scared of any roller coasters, though. I had been through much worse in Poptropica.

Eventually, my friends came over. They both gave me birthday presents and a hug. Marcus was still into MLP, and because of him I too was now a brony. Or a pegasister. He gave me a Poptropica birthday card and a plush of Fluttershy, my favourite character. Chrissi gave me a Poptropica shirt she made herself, and a sweet birthday card with pictures of cupcakes on it.

"Thanks guys," I said, giving my friends a big smile. I slipped on the shirt and put the plush in my room. "You're the best!"

"Hey, it's your birthday," Marcus smirked. "You deserve the best."

I almost blushed.

"Glad you like it," Chrissi smiled at me. "Happy Birthday, Alice."

"Thank you." I said again, full of glee. I couldn't stop smiling. That's what's weird about birthdays, you just can't stop smiling. No other day is like it. Not even Christmas. Unlike Christmas, it's your day. Your time to shine, your life to be celebrated...

You, for once, have the spotlight on yourself.

Mom took us to the theme park. We were pretty excited for the entire trip, which must've driven her crazy. One of the reasons I'd rather not have kids. I couldn't stand them screaming every ten seconds. (And besides, once you're a parent, you're a parent for life - the idea terrifies me)

Anyway, we got to the theme park. We hopped out of the car and raced to the entrance, got tickets, set up, all the normal theme park things. Then mom let us loose and we ran towards the rides. We went on a roller coaster first, and even though, yes, I'd been through much worse in Poptropica, I couldn't help feeling a little nervous. I didn't scream as we sped along the tracks, wind rushing through my hair, but my heart rate certainly increased. Marcus clung anxiously onto the safety rails, while Chrissi kept a big, excited grin on her face. At least someone was enjoying themself.

After that we went on the dodgems, which I suppose was some kind of practice for driving? I was terrible at them though and slammed into the walls and other people countless times. Chrissi chased after this one guy who cat-called her. He had a look of regret on his face. Marcus tried to avoid people as best as he could. He admitted to me later that the dodgems made him nervous. I couldn't blame him.

Chrissi, after getting out of the dodgems, actually chased that guy for a little longer. His mates thought it was hilarious, and so did we, quite frankly. Eventually she got bored and returned to us. She had the guy's phone number, though, so who knew what would happen next?

After another ride, we stopped to have a very healthy snack of chocolate bars and soft drinks. I know, you can hear Jamie Oliver cheering in the background. Mom was shaking her head at us with a goofy smile.

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly. We went on a bunch more rides and ate a lot more junk food. By the end, as I predicted, I was feeling kind of sick. And we hadn't even had the cake yet.

My mum and friends sang Happy Birthday to me, then I cut the cake. We all cheered and helped ourselves to a slice of the chocolatey goodness, despite how full we were already.

"Happy Birthday!" Mom cheered. My friends clapped.

I kept smiling. My inner child hadn't changed that much. Birthdays were still the best. Not much could ruin this moment.

I was happy.

The god was frowning. His face was twisted into a scowl as he lounged back into his throne. He stroked his goatee.

"No sign of her?" he asked the being below him. The young one folded his arms. He shook his head.

Hades sighed. "We will find her, at any cost. Her soul is dangerous."

"Dangerous..." echoed the younger one.

"Very much," Hades said. "Lousia Van-Tullekan's soul must be found."


	2. New Students

Don't you hate it when you're having the best sleep of your life and then you have to wake up to go to school?

My alarm buzzed angrily, and my eyes groggily fluttered open. I was really not a morning person.

Still, I managed to pull myself out of bed and find my clothes. I slipped on a simple, white long-sleeved shirt and black pants. My blonde hair now reached down to my armpits. My face had more creases on it as well. I was lucky I didn't get braces or pimples (many, that is). Marcus wasn't so lucky. Poor guy...

I headed downstairs and packed my school bag. It was almost overflowing with school and home work. My mom gave me a kind smile. I returned it, my back already aching though the bag wasn't even on my back yet.

I slipped my bag onto my back, strained from the weight. I said goodbye to Mom and then left. I walked to school, passing by the houses and neighbors I'd seen countless times. I walked into the school, tired and definitely not ready for the new year.

I met up with my friends, who were also pretty unexcited about returning to school. We complained about all the assignments and annoying teachers. Before we knew it, the bell went, and we had to go to home room.

Chrissi wasn't in my home room unfortunately, but luckily Marcus was. I smiled at him as I took my seat.

The teacher, Ms Pattingham, began by doing the roll and going over the daily bulletin. Then she stood up, raising her hands.

"We have two new students joining us here," she said. "These two siblings are from very far away, so let's make sure we give them a big welcome."

Two students stood at the front of the class. We gazed at them with curiosity. Brother and sister.

The brother had black, somewhat spiky hair and ghostly pale skin. His eyes were grey. He was wearing a light grey hoodie with dark grey pants. He was giving me a stare that was making me shiver. He looked so hollow… so…

He almost looked… dead.

The girl, on the other hand, though with the same skin colour, had long, brown hair and a cheerful smile on her face. Her eyes, too, were grey, which dimmed the smile ever so slightly. She was wearing a black jacket over a green shirt and grey jeans.

"Why don't you two introduce yourselves?" Ms Pattingham asked.

"Sure thing," the sister grinned. "I'm Lara, and this is my brother…" She paused for a moment, thoughtfully. "Harold."

Harold briefly glanced at Lara with a scowl.

"As Ms. Pattingham said, we're from pretty far away," Lara continued. "Almost like, another world." She had a glint in her eyes. "So yeah, we came here for a better education."

"Interesting," Ms Pattingham smiled politely. "Does anyone have any questions for these two?"

No one raised their hand. Harold kept looking at me. Before I knew it, I felt my hand rise into the air.

"Yes, Alice?" Ms Pattingham asked me, still smiling.

"Where exactly do you guys come from?" I asked. "Like, what country or…"

"Very far away," Lara replied, her smile slightly twisted. "You may know where."

That didn't make any sense to me, but I kept quiet.

"Okay," Ms Pattingham's cheerful tone changed the mood. "Would anyone be willing to show these two around the school?"

One of the class pets put her hand up. Ms Pattingham picked on her, of course. I myself kind of felt like volunteering, but giving tours isn't really a talent of mine. Besides… those two creeped me out. Especially Harold. He gave me bad vibes.

Marcus agreed with me about the siblings.

"Yeah, those two were kind of creepy…" he said. "They almost sounded… fake?"

"Who sounded fake?" Chrissi asked, walking over to us.

We explained the story of new students.

"Hmm," Chrissi looked curious. "Yeah, I don't like the sound of those two. Especially since they're siblings in the same class… I don't see that very often."

"We'll keep an eye on them." I said, nodding at Marcus.

…

As usual, most of my afternoon/evening after school was taken up with homework. Good times. I paused to have dinner of course, and procrastinate - I mean relax.

I went to bed, slightly stressed over some assignments I had due. I sighed, my eyes closing. The ceiling was fading from my view as I succumbed to slumber…

Then… I saw someone… in my dreams. I recognized her. I recognized her well.

Athena.

The goddess looked down at me, her eyes glowing and hair flowing. I stared back up at her, excitement rushing through my veins. This could only mean one thing.

"In a new world, three heroes will appear.

One home again, one competitive and one shaking in fear.

Long-gone vengeance will rise,

Taking the world as its prize.

If the heroes succeed,

We will be free.

But if they lose,

Every world is doomed."

At last.

I was returning to Poptropica.


	3. Welcome Back

I knew this feeling. This feeling of excitement, bliss…

I was finally back.

I opened my eyes and looked around. I had landed on a sandy beach, full of rocks and various Poptropicans. Next to me was a house built into a tree (not a treehouse, the tree was the house). In the distance was the bright blue sea and forests of green bushes. The air smelt salty and fresh, full of adventure and potential. Old childish excitement raced through me and I couldn't wipe the goofy smile off my face.

It felt great to be home again.

"Alice…?" a familiar voice asked me. I turned around, and she was standing there. Fierce Fox, my loyal partner in crime.

"Fierce!" I exclaimed, rushing towards her. I leaped into her arms, giving her a tight hug. She stiffened up for a moment, but slowly returned the hug.

"It's about time you came back," my Poptropican chuckled, holding up her hands. "A lot has changed, I bet you can tell…"

"Yeah…" I nodded in agreement. I pointed at her body. "Look at you! You've got hands, and shoes, and socks, and…"

Fierce Fox wiggled her fingers, almost looking bewildered. She shrugged at me, her wild red hair falling over her shoulders.

"It is," she chuckled. "So… anyway, I heard there's a new prophecy?"

"Yeah…" I said. "I'm kinda worried about it. The last one got us all into a huge mess… hopefully this one won't be so bad." I made a face. "I think we're gonna meet some new friends on the way…"

"Pfft, we always meet new friends," Fierce Fox laughed. "We'll probably end up kicking Zeus' butt again."

I nodded. "Yeah, I still don't get why he tries."

"Anyway, wanna check out my house?" Fierce Fox gestured at the tree. "Unless you already know what it looks like, of course."

"Seeing it behind a computer screen is one thing, seeing it in person…" I winked. "That's a whole new factor."

Fierce Fox shrugged. "That's true."

With that, we entered the tree, holding a light discussion about the prophecy. I stopped talking to gawk at the tree house.

The wallpaper was a fiery red, much like the owner's hair (and personality might I add), and the floor was covered in grey carpet. A large, green sofa was underneath a huge flat-screen TV (lucky Poptropicans got that installed when they got their homes, why couldn't that be the same in my world?).

On the second layer, up the stairs, were two extra rooms, surrounded by portraits and trophies from islands we'd completed. On the third floor was basically the same thing, except with more furniture. Ropes were dangling from the ceilings, because we all know Poptropicans are far better at rope climbing than us humans.

"Want an ice-cream?" Fierce Fox asked. She grabbed an ice-cream out of a freezer (which she also has, because Poptropica logic) and held it up.

"Sure." I shrugged. I took off the wrapper and licked the cool, red popsicle. Raspberry. Fierce Fox got an ice-cream of her own and bit into it. It was one of those chocolate-dipped vanilla cones. She flinched.

"Brain-freeze…" she grumbled, holding her head. I snorted.

"That's why you don't bite straight into ice-creams." I told her. She gave me a half-hearted glare.

"If that prophecy is dangerous, you'll be the one with a brain-freeze." she replied sassily.

"What? Is Zeus going to force-feed us ice-creams or something?" I laughed in response. Fierce Fox sighed and shook her head. Then in the corner of my eye I saw something…

I turned back, but there was nothing there. I shook my head. I must've been seeing things. It happened all the time.

"Anyway, honestly aside from that weird guy who dresses up like a pirate and some explorer chick, this place isn't that interesting," Fierce Fox said. She smirked. "You know what it is interesting?"

We both shared a glance.

"ISLAND QUESTS!" we said in harmony.

"The blimp's right out there," Fierce Fox said. She winked at me. "Are you ready?"

"When am I ever not ready?" I chuckled in response. We raced outside to the golden, floating blimp which now had a motor attached to it. Fierce Fox climbed on board and held out her hand. I grabbed onto it, and clambered into the blimp. I still couldn't stop smiling.

An island quest at last!


	4. Crisis Caverns

I peered over the edge of the blimp as we travelled over the salty, blue seas. It felt so good to be up here again, the rush of adventure all around you. I grinned at Fierce Fox, who nodded back at me.

The blimp touched down on the island.

We landed on a rocky terrain; rocks were supporting buildings, as well as dirt, mud and trees. A lady handed Fierce Fox and myself a badge each.

"Howdy, and welcome to Caldera State Park!" she said. "Take these visitors badges so the bears know you're not supper, ha ha."

"Great…" I said. I didn't understand how a badge could drive bears away, but whatever. This was Poptropica for goodness' sake.

Poptropica… once again excitement raced through me.

"I'm back," I mumbled. "I'm… really back."

"Yeah," Fierce Fox glanced at me. "I noticed."

I blushed. I still made stupid mistakes, even as an older kid.

"Anyway," I cleared my throat. "Let's do this." I held out my hand. "Together."

"If only you were like this a long time ago…" Fierce Fox grumbled. She took my hand regardless.

"It will be better this time," I told her. "I promise."

We walked into the visitor center: an old building made of oak. Inside was merchandise, food, facts about the location, all the normal things you'd expect to see in a visitor center. There was even some pretty interesting info about super volcanoes. And perhaps, slightly terrifying.

We went a=up a few levels, checking out some things about a scientist and the American bison. We also saw some stuff about a geyser. There was a statue of an elk without antlers at the end too. Those antlers we needed to find.

"Where on Earth would antlers of all things be?" Fierce Fox asked.

I led Fierce Fox to a small building under construction. On its slanted, tile roof was a pair of antlers. I have no idea how and why they were up there, just accept it.

We gave the antlers back to the visitor center; in return, we were made Honorary Junior Rangers for the day. In other words, we could access places normal people couldn't.

"Okay," I said. "Now we're ready to go underground. Just one more thing."

We had to speak to these scientists so we could get a sick-looking belt, and so it would be easier to move underground.

"Trust me," I told Fierce Fox. "This is gonna get interesting."

"Two tourists are trapped inside!" a guy outside the caves explained to us. I eyed the thick rock and felt the heat of the geysers. I bit my lip.

"Are you still giving tours?" Fierce Fox asked, which was kind of odd.

"No visit to Caldera State Park is complete without a tour of the caves!" the guy replied. "Come on in!" He went inside. We followed him. Inside, the cave was dark (obviously) and the rocky walls were covered in grass.

"This cave was discovered by Dr. Vincent," the tour guy said. "There were rumors he'd gone mad, claiming he'd seen that there were strange creatures living within in a city deep beneath the park." He pointed at a tent in the upper right corner. "We call that area up there 'Vincent's Apartment'. It's where Vincent spent a lot of his time in between his trips down below."

"And then he disappeared…" I mumbled. He wasn't lying, of course. In Poptropica, weird things happen all the time.

Anyway, then we needed to save two elderly women who were stuck behind a rock. I know they were old, but still, they're Poptropicans. They should've been able to jump over the rock themselves. Oh well.

"Time to use this." I said, clipping the belt around my waist. Fierce Fox did the same with hers. Our belt dragged the conveniently cube-shaped rock into the conveniently cubed-shaped hole. The tourists walked over to us.

"Finally, we can leave this cold and dreary place!" the first one, Hazel, exclaimed.

"I say we go somewhere even more depressing: your house." Beatrice, the other, replied.

"Cram it, Beatrice!" Hazel snapped. The women left.

"Alright," I said. "Now they're gone, the fun starts here."

Fierce Fox followed me to the entrance. Nearby the roof were some rocks, which I used my belt to drag myself towards. It was kind of scary but fun at the same time? Fierce Fox gave me a thumbs up as she landed next to me on the platform. We ran right, passing Vincent's Apartment.

We arrived into a darker, deeper part of the caves. The ground was full of conveniently shaped rocks and holes. My friend and I worked together to pull the rocks into the holes so we could cross. We went down another level, coming into an area with more water. We covered up a flowing spring with another rock. Then we found some people exploring the caves, dangling on rocks. Using the power of the belts, we made our way up to the people.

"I wouldn't go much further if I were you," a woman warned us. "Bad things happen to people deep in those caves."

"I've seen worse." I shrugged, winking at Fierce Fox.

My accomplice and I passed those guys, and arrived at a cavern. It was big and spacious, full of ledges and rocks. In the bottom right was a machine of some kind. It looked similar to a rocket with a large battery attached to it.

"Hmm…" Fierce Fox touched the battery. Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently. I knew this would happen, but I was scared anyway. I grabbed onto Fierce Fox's arm as the ground split and cracked open and we fell down.

We woke up in a strange place full of purple rock and beautiful pink crystals that glimmered.

"What happened to the interferometer?" Fierce Fox asked, rubbing her head. "Maybe we can drill through there to get it back. We should see if this thing still works."

"It's missing parts." I replied.

"We'd better find 'em then." Fierce Fox grunted. I nodded. We jumped over a dark purple wall which was lined with glowing crystals and rocks. We reached a platform, which held a battery. I picked it up with a grin. We then bounced across some ginormous, glowing green mushrooms, like in that trash Galactic Hot Dogs Island. Our journey went deeper into the cave, passing pits of bubbling mud and more crystals. Down at the bottom, we found the engine. I grinned. It was going well.

So far.

I couldn't help but notice something out of the corner of my eye…

Deeper still into the cave, we found the drill. We returned to the big machine and patched it all up. And yet, deeper down we went.

We arrived in a location that reminded me of Poseidon's domain on Mythology Island, or the giant ship from Mission Atlantis. Maybe a mix of both. The designs on the smooth, grey rocks were beautiful, and shimmering, blue crystals stuck out of the walls. The light was shining down on a golden statue of something that looked like a tiger's head. As lovely as it was, I've seen enough Indiana Jones (and the ending of the island) to know as soon as we touched that thing, we'd die.

Which is exactly what happened to poor Fierce Fox…

Luckily, she was revived. Thank game logic.

Using the power of belts and general knowledge, we passed a series of traps and (almost) died. I slid a rock underneath a platform, saving Fierce Fox from getting crushed. She sighed at me, but seemed grateful.

We ran down a slope, reaching the end which was a pit of lava. We both used the power of belts to drag a rock into the lava, so we could jump across. A boulder came rushing down the slope.

Fierce Fox made a face. She grabbed onto my arm tightly, just in case I fell off (thanks Fierce). She leaped onto the rock, and then onto the other side. We slipped down a small crack, just as the boulder landed in the lava.

"Jeez," Fierce Fox breathed in. "These people aren't a fan of us, huh?"

"Yeah…" My eye twitched. "No surprises there."

After putting a rock on a button, we passed through another gate. Then we got to my least favourite part of the island, the sun puzzle. I was not a puzzle person. It took ages for us to solve the damn puzzle. [A/N: Not joking, it took me 40 mins…]

We entered a small room. As well as a lot of other riches, standing on a pedestal was the interferometer.

"There it is!" Fierce Fox said. She raced up to it, holding out her hand. As soon as she touched it, these strange creatures that looked like anthropomorphic moles appeared. Two knights, holding staffs approached us.

"Intruders!" they exclaimed. "You are not one of us! We must make your presence to King Mondo!" They forced us out of the room, their staffs digging into my back.

We were brought to a room with two shimmering thrones, belonging to the king and queen of the strange mole people. Forks and spoons were sticking out of their thrones.

"Intruders!" the queen Bondo growled. "You have one chance to make an offering and prove why we should not cast you to the Chthonians!"

"How about this?" I held out the souvenir badge we got at the start.

"Ooh!" Bondo exclaimed.

"We were just visiting the park when we ended up down here," Fierce Fox jumped in. "See?"

"Ah, you bring a treasure of the topsiders!" Bondo gasped. "You are friends!"

"As friends, please allow me to explain the plight of my people." Mondo jumped in. "For thousands of years we have lived peacefully under the Earth. Until our only enemies, the Chthonians, awoke from hibernation and declared war!"

"But why?" Fierce Fox asked.

"We do not know," Mondo answered. "We have fended off their attacks for nearly a century, and cannot withstand much more."

"The Chthonians' war strikes the very Earth!" Bondo exclaimed.

"That explains all these tremors," I said. "If you don't stop fighting, the super volcano could erupt!"

"We cannot stop. Not until we are free of the Chthonian menace." Bondo said assertively. The ground beneath us suddenly rumbled, as if protesting.

"They're coming!" Mondo shouted. The guards began to panic, and I grit my teeth. Fierce Fox made a face.

"We're worm food!" one guard shouted in panic.

"We will have independence!" Mondo exclaimed. "We won't let our freedom be taken away-" He was interrupted as a terrifying worm-like creature sprung out of the ground, spaghetti coming out of its mouth. It almost looked like a Weedle from Pokemon and the Flying Spaghetti monster had a baby. It grabbed Mondo and took him away.

Fierce Fox gasped in horror. I bit my lip.

"Run! Go!" Bondo ordered us. We glanced at each other and nodded. We raced across the rocky floor, away from those creatures. Fierce Fox was keeping a grip on my arm as we jumped from platform to platform. I almost fell off a few times; I would've if Fierce Fox wasn't there. She was just as strong as she was back on Poptropica. But this time, I wasn't going to sit around and pity myself. I leapt after her, gritting my teeth.

I was a stronger person now. A better person.

I yelped as a Chthonian nearly consumed my whole body. Luckily I just avoided it. Fierce Fox gave me a look, and we kept going.

"You've gotten better," she told me.

"You've always been better." I retorted, but still appreciated the compliment.

We eventually managed to escape the Chthonians and returned to Bondo.

"We led the Chthonians away and circled back," Fierce Fox said. "What now?"

"Now I must gather my people and gird for the next attack." Bondo answered.

"What about King Mondo?" I asked.

"I… cannot spare a single one of my people to mount a rescue attempt." Bondo replied solemnly.

"We can't leave him behind!" Fierce Fox retorted. "Alice and I will rescue him!"

"You must travel to the Earth's core, where the Chthonians live," Bondo said grimly. "But be warned: facing our enemies will be no easy task." She opened a door behind her throne, revealing a passage to the core of Earth. You know, all the cool people have one of those.

"This can't be much different from the Underworld." I grunted. Fierce Fox made a face at me, then entered the passage. I followed her.

We ran across a bridge full of unstable blocks. The heat was making my palms sweat. I kept my head focused, following my friend. We made it to the bottom layer; a pool of lava with a platform heading across it. Fierce Fox and I jumped onto the platform, riding across. Once we reached the other side, we slid down some vine ropes. A Chthonian was hanging out at the bottom; we avoided it. We climbed through a few tunnels, coming across a few more of those horrible things. Seriously, they were screeching and everything.

After avoiding one more of those disgusting things, we went through another passage. I jumped onto a platform, Fierce Fox behind me. We made it across another lava lake. On the other side, we found a bunch of admittedly pretty eggs covered in silk. King Mondo was wrapped up like a fly in a web.

"Do you see those vessels?" Mondo asked. "They're Chthonian eggs!"

"Just like the one in your treasure trove." Fierce Fox said.

"We've been so foolish," Mondo shook his head. "They just want their babies back!"

"I think we know how to get the Chthonians to let you go," I said. "Wait here."

"Where else am I going to go?" Mondo deadpanned.

We went back the way we came. Fierce Fox stood next to the egg, which was nearby the thrones.

"We need to take this," Fierce Fox declared.

"We cannot part with such a precious stone." Bondo argued.

"This is no stone- it's a Chthonian egg!" Fierce Fox replied.

"I think if we return it, they'll leave us alone." I added.

"Of course!" Bondo gasped. "How could the mole people have been so blind? Take the egg!"

I didn't respond to that because… well. Fierce Fox and I headed back down the passage, all the way back to Mondo. We gave the chthonians back their egg, they released King Mondo. Hooray. Queen Bondo appeared, overjoyed to see her king.

"You're safe!" she exclaimed.

"Indeed I am. And thanks to our friends here, the war against the chthonians is over." Mondo replied.

Suddenly, the Earth rumbled.

"What is it? Another attack?" Fierce Fox asked.

"No," Mondo sounded terrified. "The supervolcano is erupting!"

"What do we do?" Fierce Fox asked. (Seems kind of obvious, doesn't it?)

"You both must hurry to the world above," Bondo answered. "We can stop the eruption, but only if we seal the Earth behind you!"

"Seal the Earth… won't you be trapped down here?" I asked.

"It is where we belong." Mondo replied.

"Go!" Bondo insisted.

Fierce Fox grabbed my arm, and we raced off. The boiling lava urshed us forwards; we raced through the core of the Earth again, grappling onto vines. Fierce Fox had a look of determination in her eyes, and so did I. We continued heading upwards, headed into the area full of blue rocks and traps. Lava was coming through cracks in the walls.

I almost burned my hand on some lava; my hand stung from the impact. I continued following my friend, forcing energy into my body. We raced up past the place with the beautiful crystals, lava dripping out of the walls. Fierce Fox was incredible at dodging as always, and I was starting to improve. I cheered myself on, feeling… empowered. Determined. I was stronger.

I was better.

Then I saw something in the darkness… following me…

I almost fell off a platform into the lava. Luckily Fierce Fox was there to grab my arm and hoist me up. She gave me a look.

"Sorry…" I mumbled. "I just… thought I saw something…"

We eventually reached the top, by bursting out of a geyser (which I can now add to the list of strange experiences I've had). Everyone congratulated us and gave us the medallion, but didn't believe in the existence of the mole people. Their loss, I guess.

I smirked at the mole arm that reached out and grabbed some souvenir badges.

…

I couldn't get my mind off that figure… what was that?

I sighed. I was never away from danger, no matter where I was.


	5. 24 Carrot Island

ALICE

Mom almost couldn't believe it when I said I went back. She promised me over and over again that I'd look after myself.

"Seriously," she said. "I don't want you getting hurt, Alice…"

"I'll try not to," I said. "But… I won't be alone, right? I'll have Fierce Fox with me!"

Mom sighed. "I still can't believe this is still happening after so long… good luck, Alice. I believe in you."

I gave Mom a hug. She gently hugged me back.

Fierce Fox and I landed on the roof of the dirty carrot diner. Just like in the original game, 24 Carrot Island was very run down. The skies were pale brown and wind rushed through dying trees. A sign was somewhat lit up. Most of the buildings were somewhat damaged. A homeless guy was standing next to a trashcan, while a woman was calling out for her cat.

"Doesn't look too good…" Fierce Fox said.

"You don't say." I said drily. We spoke to the Mayor, who asked us to find out what happened to the carrots. I already knew the answer of course, but shhh.

The next thing on our list was finding Whiskers the cat. Very, very uncreative name for a cat. It's like calling a human 'beard' or 'moustache'. Anyway. Whiskers was trapped inside a cage in an old, shut-down barn. The poor farmer had to sell it as the carrots were disappearing. This island was way too dependant on carrots. Isn't there anything else they can sell?

Whisker's owner asked us to give her pet some milk, so we headed into the diner (this island is pretty old-fashioned, sheesh) to get some milk. It was pretty run-down. They hadn't had any customers for ages.

Flo, the waitress, wasn't quite as friendly as she was back in original Poptropica. She wanted payment for the milk. So we had to go to the theatre, which wasn't a theatre at all but a carrot museum. Well, it was a theatre, but with movies about carrots. Yeah, they are really obsessed with carrots.

So, we talked to the museum guide and found a movie ticket. We gave that to Flo and she gave us some milk. Finally.

We headed back to the barn. I climbed down into the roof of it, and headed towards the cage in the corner.

"Whiskers!" Fierce Fox grumbled. "How did you get in there?"

I opened the cage, and Whiskers ran out. A cage suddenly came down on top of Fierce Fox and myself, trapping us.

"A-ha!" a messy looking guy with glasses approached us. His name's Maynard. "The shoe is on the other rabbit's foot!"

"Let us out!" Fierce Fox demanded.

"Hey… you guys aren't Dr. Hare." Maynard said, frowning. The cage went back up. "Sorry, I'm hiding from Dr. Hare."

"Ahh, him," I said, biting my lip.

"You know him?" Maynard asked.

"Yeah," I replied, glancing at Fierce Fox. "We go way back."

"So do I," Maynard said. "He captured me and forced me to work in his factory as a slave, as well as these other people! Plus, it has something to do with all the missing carrots! Someone has to stop him!"

"Guess that'll be us." Fierce Fox grumbled. I nodded sympathetically.

"Wow, how brave," Maynard admired us. "Well, I suppose I can offer some help to you. I've got blueprints for the factory. I'll give them to you if you help me fix my trap."

"Help for help, huh?" I asked, making a face.

"I can't go out, he'll see me!" Maynard whimpered. I sighed. As usual, it was up to us.

We left the barn, seeing Whiskers jump into the chimney of an old, broken down house. Great. We chased after her. Much like in the original island, she'd jumped into the shower. I turned the tap on; she jumped out, and landed on top of a shelf. And then she was hungry.

I whipped out the dish of milk; the cat came down and drank out of it. Then she started following us.

"This way, kitty," I said, leaving the house through the chimney like Santa Claus. Fierce Fox was right behind me. We headed to Charlie's Repair shop.

"We found your cat!" Fierce Fox said.

"Whiskers!" Charlie exclaimed in relief. "Come here, your little rascal!" She smiled at us. "Thank you, both of you! I can't afford to give you much, but maybe you could use this crowbar."

After that, we briefly headed over to the Factory Grounds to get a spring for Maynard (that was conveniently lying around, mind you). We returned to him; he was as cowardly as ever.

"Thanks!" he said. "Good luck on your quest, ladies. Stop Dr. Hare and bring back the carrots!" He paused. "As for me, back into hiding." He ran off. I rolled my eyes.

So, at last, we arrived at the factory. Like everywhere else on the island, it had seen better days. We jumped across the dirty roof, passing weathered poles and advertisements. Down at the bottom was a mucky lake and a pipe entrance. Using the crowbar, we opened it, and were finally able to get inside the disgusting factory.

The first section was a bunch of pipes with platforms. With the power of patience and the skill of jumping, we made it across. We also passed a rat with a disturbingly long tail.

"This is way easier than last time," I shook my head. "I'm really myself this time, huh?"

Fierce Fox chuckled in response. "You've become strong enough to be yourself."

We made it into the next room. It was a large, empty room, full of machinery and a strange eeriness. I pulled a few levers, turning a machine on.

"This way." I said. Fierce Fox followed me as I jumped onto a few boxes, reaching a platform. A large magnet was moving from side to side, dropping embers as it moved. We clambered onto the magnet, arriving onto yet another platform… which was the entrance to the vents.

The vents were dark and dusty, as I expected them to be. We raced through them, headed to the processing room. Then someone was behind me. It wasn't Fierce Fox.

The figure was completely shrouded in darkness, so I couldn't tell who they were. I felt fear rush through me and I began to run. The figure pounded after me with heavy footsteps. They took in deep breaths.

"Fierce!" I yelled out in desperation. I heard her yell out something, but her voice was getting further and further away. The figure reached out their hand; I avoided it narrowly. I suddenly slipped and crashed into the wall. My whole body ached in pain. My sight was dizzy, and my forehead was drenched in sweat.

Then, the ground began to shake before me. I stood up, despite my aching limbs. I tried to regain focus, but it was too late. The ground collapsed, and I fell down into the darkness.

THIRD PERSON

Fierce Fox called out Alice's name again and again, but there was no sign of the young lady. Fierce Fox was sure she saw something chasing Alice, but what? The Poptropican shook her head. She needed to focus on finding her friend.

She made her way through the vents. Alice said something about going to a Processing Room, so Fierce Fox used the map and headed over there. Perhaps, by luck, Alice was there! I mean, she found a wire cutter on the way, that had to be a good thing, right?

That wasn't quite the case. Security caught her, and sent her to the freezer room. It was full of boxes of carrots coated in ice, and containers full of carrot ice-cream. Fierce Fox had to wonder who would enjoy carrots so much that they would make the root vegetables into ice-cream...

"Minions! We have an intruder inside our factory," Dr. Hare said. "Set security settings to maximum. We'll get that intruder soon. We have something they'll be desperate to get back."

Fierce Fox wondered what that meant. They hadn't found Alice, had they? The girl gritted her teeth. She was not letting them catch her or Alice.

She looked around the chilly room, and soon found a goldmine: the security system. She leaped up to it and opened it. Inside were a few wires; she cut them using that handy-dandy wire cutter. Now she was good to go. She leaped up, seeing the vent system. She headed inside, determined to find her friend.

ALICE

I woke up in a crate of carrots of all things. Though I shouldn't have been surprised, I was on a carrot-obsessed island. As I tried to move, I realised my arms and legs were tied up in shackles. I struggled against the cold metal, but it was no use.

"Oh, you won't be able to get out of that," Dr. Hare cackled, appearing beside me. He looked down at me with a smug smirk. "Sorry, Alice."

"You…" I glared up at him.

"You what?" Dr. Hare asked, making a face.

"You know my name." I said.

"Of course I do, it'd be pretty rude to just call you 'girl', wouldn't it?" Dr. Hare replied. "Also you're a really popular hero."

I sighed.

"What do you want with me?" I asked, once again trying to escape.

"Oh, not much," Dr. Hare answered. "Just all your carrots… and the fact that you'll be joining me in space so I can use YOU to control the whole world! You'll be the bad guy this time, Alice! Ha ha ha!" He cackled maniacally.

"What?!" I yelled, breathing heavily.

"That's right!" Dr. Hare smirked. "You can flush your reputation down the toilet!" He raised his arms. "For now, I'll show my lovely carrot juicer! Trust me, you'll love it!"

I felt myself panicking as two Poptropicans wearing metal rabbot hats dragged me after Dr. Hare.

THIRD PERSON

Fierce Fox decided to head back to the Processing Room. There had to be something there, now that the security systems were shut off.

She jumped off a platform, passing by a crate of moving carrots. She landed nearby a young girl wearing rabbot ears.

"Hey!" Fierce Fox gasped. "I know you! You're one of the missing kids!"

"Can't talk. Processing carrots." the girl replied. Fierce Fox looked thoughtful. She remembered what Alice did on the other 24 Carrot Island…

"Hey! Look behind you!" Fierce Fox yelled. "A flying dog!"

"Where?" the girl asked. Fierce Fox reached out her hand, pressing a button on the girl's head. She was taken out of her trance.

"Be careful!" she warned Fierce Fox. "If Dr. Hare sees you without Drone Ears, you're in big trouble!"

"Drone ears," Fierce Fox nodded. "That I can find."

She headed off, running into a young boy - another missing kid. She pushed the button on his head as well, turning him back to normal.

"I'm free!" the boy cheered. "Don't let Dr. Hare see you without drone ears!"

Fierce Fox walked over to a door that read 'Authorised Bunny Drones Only'. So of course, she let the camera see her. Dr. Hare dropped her into the vents. Thankfully, she landed next to a pair of drone ears. She smirked, slipping them on.

Fierce Fox checked her map. There was one place she hadn't been.

The Printer Room.

The printer room was full of boxes flying around everywhere. The Poptropicon avoided them swiftly. Like a fox, she was very swift. She reached the bottom, finding another girl standing beside a large, complicated-looking printer. She was wearing a pair of drone ears.

Fierce Fox did the same thing she did with the others, freeing the girl.

"I'm free!" the girl gasped. "Follow me, there's a few things I want to show you." She pushed a button on the printer, which printed out a piece of paper. The text on it read, 'system password'.

"Nice." Fierce Fox grinned at it.

"One more thing," the girl said. "Take a look at this." She turned on a screen, showing Fierce Fox a view of something. The Poptropican gasped.

It was Alice, tied up into a spaceship, next to Dr. Hare.

ALICE

"Get me out of this thing!" I yelled, tied up in more ropes than ever.

"Not a chance!" Dr. Hare laughed. "Wait 'till your little friend comes along and sees this! She'll love it!"

I gritted my teeth.

"Aww, don't look so sad," Dr. Hare replied. "Soon enough, she'll be a minion too!" He looked out of the window. "Ahh, finally, one of my useless minions has arrived so we can finally get off this planet! Stay here - well, not like you can go anywhere anyway!" He jumped out of the window to yell at someone. I looked down. It was no use. I couldn't get out of these shackles.

I looked to the side and saw a familiar face. Fierce Fox! She was wearing those drone ears. I jumped up in surprise, and started shouting out her name.

"I was going to wait 'till later, but if you're going to make a racket…" Dr. Hare appeared behind me, holding out drone ears.

"No!" I bellowed, trying to inch away.

"Oh yes," Dr. Hare cackled. "Say goodnight!"

And then everything went black.

FIERCE FOX

The Poptropican, now that she knew Dr. Hare's plan, jumped up a few platforms, reaching the monitor for the giant rabbot-ship. A guy was standing there; she deactivated his drone ears.

"Dr. Hare is going to use his giant rabbot to mind control everyone from space!" he exclaimed. "And with the help of that girl!" He pointed at the eyes of the giant rabbot. In there, Fierce Fox saw Alice, wearing drone ears. She clenched her fists.

"Not if I can help it!" Fierce Fox barked, facing the control panel. She entered in the password, then the command.

Launch Rabbot

The ground rumbled, and the roof of the factory opened. The rabbot flew into the sky.

"Shoot that rabbot's mind control satellites down with the factory's defence cannon!" the guy told Fierce Fox. She nodded, glaring up at the rabbot. She felt determined.

She fired lasers at the satellites, destroying them with ease. Dr. Hare shouted out with rage.

"Cut that out!" he snapped.

"Not a chance!" Fierce Fox roared back. "Let my friend go!"

"Never!" Dr. Hare shouted. He unleashed more satellites at the Poptropican; she fired them all down.

"Not bad, kid, but you're still not getting her back!" Dr. Hare growled.

The girl began firing at the rabbot. He screamed as bolts made his rabbot shake and crack.

"Hey! Stop that!" Dr. Hare yelled. Fierce Fox ignored him and continued shooting. The rabbit man screamed out in rage, as his rabbot descended towards the Earth.

"Forget it!" he screamed. He pushed a button, releasing himself out of the rabbot and flying towards the sky. "THERE'S YOUR PRECIOUS GIRL! SHE'S ALL YOURS!"

Fierce Fox gasped. Her friend was now trapped in a flaming rabbot flying towards the Earth.

"We need to stop that Rabbot!" she screamed. She could almost imagine Alice's helpless face. She pushed every button on the panel, but nothing worked.

The rabbot crashed into the sea.

ALICE

I couldn't feel anything.

Was I dead? Alive?

What I did know for sure was I'd broken the promise to my mother.

I couldn't remember much… a scream… an explosion, water...

Then… something was grabbing me…

And then everything went black again.

...

"Fix her."

"Yes, M'lord."


	6. Greek Sea Odyssey

Ahh, Greek Sea Odyssey. The return to a renewed version of my old favourite, with some of my old favourites. Alice, master of sentences. You will be amazed by the extent of my creative knowledge.

Anyway, we arrived on the island. A gentle breeze was russling the trees. Nearby us, a marble statue of Zeus with various gods pulling him down glimmered in the light. Beside us was a grand marble temple, as well as stone floor full of various other Greek-related things. A dude named Georgios was stamping on some flaming grass, attempting to put it out.

"What is this place?" Fierce Fox asked him.

"We're building a new city," Georgios replied. "One that is ruled by its citizens, in which everyone has a say in how the government functions."

"You mean a democracy?" Fierce Fox.

"'Democracy'?" Georgios asked. "That's perfect! These fancy words are all Greek to me."

I groaned.

"Seems like you're having trouble, though." Fierce Fox observed.

"It's that darned Zeus," Georgios grumbled. "He keeps messing with us."

"Not surprising," I said. "Zeus caused us a lot of trouble too."

"Does this mean we get to kick his butt again?" Fierce Fox asked, a glint in her eye.

I smirked. "You got it, sis."

We walked along, passing some bushes. A lighting bolt came down and destroyed an innocent tree. Thanks Zeus. Really helping out the environment here.

We climbed up some more stairs, and found a girl named Phaedra.

"What happened here?" Fierce Fox asked her.

"Zeus hit us with his thunderbolts for no good reason!" Phaedra exclaimed.

"That sounds like Zeus, all right." I groaned.

"All of the other gods have moved on from Olympus. All but Zeus. He must be bored to tears up there." Phaedra added.

"Hmm, I guess that's why he's throwing lightning bolts at you," I sighed. "Hopefully he clears off eventually…"

After that we headed to the dock to talk to the hero Theseus, who could supposedly help us rid of Zeus' mayhem. Unfortunately, his boat had a big hole in it. Great start. He told us to go and get some lumber for his boat, rather than getting it himself because Poptropicans are very lazy.

We headed over to the new Pantheon, which was rather glorious if I do say so myself. Curtains with gold lace hung from the ceiling, and a variety of Hercules statues were laying around. Sitting in the sunlight, before a platform, was a large, shining statue of Athena. After passing a poor, farting old man forced to pose for a statue and some construction, we climbed up the Athena statue and reached the next floor.

I pushed a Hercules statue underneath a seesaw, allowing us to climb up and reach some lumber. Athena appeared there before the wood, her golden spear in hand. She was glowing, her golden helmet shining. So many shiny things on this island. I grinned. I was happy to see her. It had been a while.

"Welcome back to Poptropica, Alice," Athena said. "I hope your time here serves you well."

I nodded. "Thanks, Athena."

"I have not received information about the prophecy, but just in case, I believe it is necessary to apprehend my father by making him move on," the goddess replied. "Unfortunately, he has made things difficult for us by entrenching himself on top of Mount Olympus. Worse, he has turned his wife Hera into stone so she cannot leave him."

"Not cool, Zeus." Fierce Fox grumbled. I nodded in agreement.

"If, for one, we want to have a prophecy free of my father's interference and begin the age of humankind's independence, a human hero or heroes must voyage across the sea and gather these sacred items." Athena continued.

"I guess that's us..." I said.

"You are the prophesied hero, Alice," Athena nodded. "Everyone in Poptropica knows your name."

"I figured." I said, sighing. "Let's do this."

We returned to Theseus, and with some magical repairing skills, fixed the boat. After that, we discussed taking Zeus down.

Theseus didn't seem to like the idea of taking on Zeus. Understandable enough, Zeus is a huge jerkwad, and I didn't want to fight him again either. But we didn't have much of a choice. Besides, the end battle wasn't too hard. I was feeling confident enough.

We managed to convince the hero into letting us use his boat for travel.

"I can't guarantee anyone's safety." he warned.

"We know." I replied. Pulling a level which apparently acted as a motor, we headed off to our first destination: Crete.

Thanks to Poptropica logic, the journey was only a few seconds. If only it was the same in my world...

We landed on a tropical island of some sort. A large, daunting looking cave was there. If it weren't for that I'd gladly stay there for a holiday.

"The Labyrinth of King Minos!" Theseus exclaimed. "I never thought I'd be here again."

"What do you mean, again?" Fierce Fox asked.

"I travelled to the heart of this maze and slayed its guardian, the Minotaur!" the hero cried. "You should have seen me. I was awesome."

That's nice, I thought, casually listing off the many more heroic things I'd done back in Poptropica.

Unfortunately, Theseus couldn't go into the maze with us because he was 'forbidden'. So Fierce Fox and I had to go in there ourselves. Well, not before talking to Daedalus.

"My beautiful boy is trapped in the maze!" Daedalus exclaimed. "My beautiful, dim boy!"

Sounds like a tight relationship, I thought.

"Why don't you go in and get him?" Fierce Fox asked (thank you).

"I'm an old man, and feeble," Daedalus replied. "But if you could retrieve him, I'd happily trade you a delightful item."

"Mister, you've got yourself a deal." Fierce Fox said, despite not knowing what that item could be. I knew what it was, but still. Poptropica logic. Anyway, we went into the lovely maze. In a hanging cage was Daedalus's beautiful, dim son Icarus. He had a gothic (and tired) look that I think Hades would approve of.

"Hey, your dad is looking for you!" Fierce Fox told him.

"Pft, my dad doesn't see me, man," Icarus replied. "He doesn't see the real Icky."

"I'll be honest, that's one of the worst nicknames I've ever heard." I commented.

"Oh yeah?" Icky glared at me. "What's your name?"

"Alice." I replied.

"Wow, how…" Icky tried to think of an insult. "Um… common."

"Wow," I said, sarcastically. "I'm very insulted. I'm holding back tears."

"Okay, anyway, how do we get you out of there?" Fierce Fox asked Icky.

"There are three keys you need to find, somewhere in the Labyrinth." Icky answered.

"On it!" Fierce Fox said.

"Whatever." Icky grumbled. I rolled my eyes, and gestured at Fierce Fox to follow me. We jumped down a long passage, landing on some bones (lovely). We stomped through some mucky (or should I say icky) water. Ahead of us was a Cyclops. I don't think it would be too much of a stretch of the imagination to say it was ugly. And unfriendly. And it had a key we needed to free Icky.

To defeat this monster, we had to do the most dastardly, most horrifying, and most of all jarring test of all time. And that was…

Paper, Scissors, Rock. (Don't argue with me about the order, it's whatever, okay?)

Those of you who've played this game (which I hope is all of you) know the rules. The Cyclops pretty much picked rock all the time, and we picked paper, which allowed us to win. Easy. I'm not jinxing myself, I promise.

We want past the monster, picking up the key. A goofy satyr ran past us, giggling creepily. In all honesty it was more terrifying than the Cyclops.

Anyway. We continued further up, finding a chest full of carrots that apparently had gone under Dr. Hare's radar. That reminded me of something. Dr. Hare… I couldn't remember what happened to him… the ending of 24 Carrot had just… disappeared from my mind.

I stopped thinking about 24 Carrot Island when I almost ran into a huge skeleton. Luckily Fierce Fox had my back; she pushed a boulder onto the skeleton, crushing it. I'd be dead without her I tell you what. With that, we got the next key.

After passing a sandbox (an annoying yet clever reference to the creators), we ran into a third monster: the Minotaur. It seemed to be hungry, and luckily we had some food: carrots. I had a feeling it would get on with Dr. Hare. It allowed us to pass, and finally, we were able to get back to Icky and (unfortunately) free him. Oh well, at least we were finally going to get the 'delightful item'.

"My son!" Daedalus exclaimed. "You're free!"

"Free to be me, Daddio." Icky replied. I face-palmed.

"What were you doing in there?" Daedalus asked. "Messing around with your lyre?"

"I was practising!" Icky said. "And I'm gonna be a star, too!"

"For the thousandth time: you will go to engineering school!" Daedalus grumbled. "Besides, I've promised your lyre to these youngsters here."

"But Daaaaad!" Icky groaned.

"I owe you two much," Daedalus faced us. "We will make something of my son someday. For now, take this lyre. I've heard it can soothe- huh?"

A griffin flew down and scooped up the lyre. Conveniently inconvenient for us. We all freaked out.

And then Daedalus had a solution!

"I'm afraid to say I only have one of these," Daedalus said, holding out a pair of wings. "They will allow you to fly after that griffin."

"Well…" I looked at Fierce Fox. "Do you want to go or me?"

"Make Allie go," Icky grumbled.

"Did… did you just call me Allie?" I stared at him. No one had called me that before. I did not like it.

Fierce Fox handed me the wings, smirking. "Your call, Allie."

"Don't call me that." I grumbled. I handed the wings back to her. "I flew once before. I'm not doing it again."

"Fine, but then I get to call you Allie." Fierce Fox said. I groaned.

I ran back to the boat where Theseus was chilling out, having a great time. Why do these people always get it easy?

"Oh, you're back?" he asked me.

"We're following my friend," I said, jumping on board. "Come on."

We arrived at Themyscira, where we found Fierce Fox sitting there and waiting.

"There you guys are," she said. "Lemme guess, Allie told you where to go?"

"Allie?" Theseus asked, giggling. I scowled. "No, we just followed the dotted line on the map."

Theseus informed us we needed to get Hippolyta's girdle. Good grief these names are hard to remember. He wouldn't help us because he and… I'll just call her Hip, had some, erhem, issues.

We walked over to a bushy area, where Hip's tribe hung out. Cake was sitting on a table, as well as decorations messily scattered around. A glowing purple guy was sleeping on the floor, a cup of wine in his hand. He was another god, but not one I'd met before: Dionysus. His snoring was annoyingly loud. Everyone else looked just as bothered as I did.

Fierce Fox found Hip. They had an interesting-sounding conversation. Fierce Fox then informed me: Hip would consider giving us her girdle if we made Dionysus leave. Easy-peasey. I knew just what to do.

A physician named Hippocrates (what's with all the Hippos? Whatever, I'll call this guy Hip 2) came to explain everything anyway. I tuned out, since I already knew what to do. Don't blame me, man.

Step one (sorry animal lovers), was pushing a boulder onto a bull, so we could get one of its horns. Step 2 was easy; it was just picking grapes off a bush. Step 3 was also easy; it just involved going to the top of a tree to get a pinecone. And finally, step 4: getting a stick on fire, holding it under a bee's nest, and grabbing some honeycomb. And we were good to go.

With the help of Hip 2's recipe, we began to make the cure. We mixed the pinecone, grapes, bull horn and honeycomb into what looked like porridge. At the end it looked like blue porridge, which supposedly cured stomach aches. We gave it to Dionysus.

"Wow, thanks!" the god stretched. "I feel like a new god. Sometimes you just need a rough recovery day, you know?" He faced the girls. "Ladies, thanks for your hospitality. Until our next bacchana!" (For the record, I don't know what a bacchana is, so don't ask me.)

Hip shook her head. "He's never invited back." She glanced at us, and gave us her bridle as a gift of honour. Hooray!

Next on our road - or should I say boat trip - was Colchis. It was the home of a special fleece, that according to Theseus, was very, very soft. And we needed it.

My companion followed me past some Autumn trees, leaves flowing everywhere. I spotted the golden fleece on top of the tree. Down below it was a magical unicorn which jumped away, leaving behind a rainbow trail. I really don't know why. This island is so weird.

Speaking of weird, a giant (and I mean seriously giant, I'm pretty sure that thing's head was bigger than my entire body) snake was wrapped around the big tree.

"Hello darknesssss, my old friend," it hissed. I wanted to punch something that reference was so bad.

"Mind if we climb up that tree?" Fierce Fox asked the snake, oddly eyeing my expression.

"Only if you play sssomething to sssoothe my troubled sssoul…" the snake replied.

I pulled out the lyre. I was tempted to play All Star, I was so angry. Unfortunately, I wasn't very good at playing lyres, or any instrument at all for that matter. So instead I just played what the snake wanted me to. It seemed happy that I played what it wanted, and was willing to help us climb up the tree. Thank heavens.

We reached the golden fleece and grabbed it. Now we had everything we needed to fight Zeus. Preferably I'd rather have Poseidon's trident and/or Hades' crown since those were pretty useful, but whatever.

And so, ladies, gentlemen, whatever else, we set sail for Olympus.

It was just as dreary as I thought it'd be. Wind was blowing everywhere, and the mountain was looming threateningly above us, just like on Mythology Island.

"You two are brave," Theseus said, smiling at us. "You're the heroes Athens needs!"

"Really…" I made a face. "Why should everyone rely on only one person? Or in this case, only two? If it's everyone's future, then everyone should work together." I sighed. "Whatever, let's take on Zeus one last time."

Mount Olympus looked kinda run-down, like the Olympus maintenance crew had left with the other gods. The signs were covered in weird blotches, and someone was drying their clothes underneath a fire.

We reached the platform below Zeus.

"Humankind will never have freedom!" Zeus roared. "They will always be under my reign!"

"Us humans can look after ourselves!" I yelled back. Zeus launched balls of lighting at us, like it was a game of Donkey Kong. I snorted, leaping over all the balls, Fierce Fox right on my heels. I got shocked once or twice, but my Poptropican body wouldn't let me die so quickly. Fierce Fox was agile as usual, and reached the angry god before I did.

I caught up and faced Zeus, eyeing poor stone Hera. Athena suddenly appeared before us.

"I am impressed," the goddess said. "You have defeated evil once again, as the true young hero you are."

Well, if evil gives you Donkey Kong-like mini games, then winning is no sweat, I thought.

"But what about Hera?" Fierce Fox asked.

"Those items you collected can free her from her stone prison." Athena replied.

"How?" Fierce Fox asked again.

"Allow me." Athena replied, taking the items. She fused them together like some kind of Steven Universe thing. (Yes, thanks to Marcus, I have now seen a whole variety of cartoons.) Hera broke out of her stone prison.

"Where am I?" she asked. "What happened?"

"Zeus turned you into stone," I replied. "But you're safe now."

"Oh he did, did he?" Hera frowned. "Zeeuuuuuuuus!"

The gods bickered for a bit, before making a superhero-like departure into the sky. Typical god stuff. Theseus suddenly appeared, and congratulated us. He then proceeded to handing us the medallion and some money.

And that was it for Greek Sea Odyssey.

… aside from the part where I mistakenly told Marcus and Chrissi about the Allie thing, and now they wouldn't stop giving me that nickname.

Fantastic.


	7. Mysterious figure

It was lunchtime. The cafeteria was chaos as usual. I sat down with my friends, a toasted sandwich on my plate. We talked about regular stuff, like school, assignments, that kind of thing. Then I saw Harold watching me from his table, where he was seated with his sister. He was really creeping me out. So much so that Chrissi picked up on it.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Harold…" I said. "He keeps watching me… in a creepy way."

"Maybe he likes you." Marcus wiggled his eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes. "He's too creepy for that." I made a face. "Besides, in Poptropica as well… I keep seeing this dark figure…" I took a deep breath. I bit my lip. "I really hope I'm wrong with my thoughts… I don't want another Louisa scenario."

My friends shared a nervous glance.

"Well, we're right by your side if you need help," Chrissi said reassuringly. "We won't let something like that happen again."

I smiled at her.

"Thanks," I said, glad to have my friends.

I walked around the school halls, going to my locker. Harold was still watching me from a corner. It was starting to get on my nerves.

Finally, I decided to talk to him. I didn't want to be outright rude, so I cautiously approached him after school. We stared at each other for a few moments.

"Hey," I said, calmly. "Um… I just wanted to ask… why do you keep staring at me…?"

He didn't respond and walked away. And I was trying not to be rude!

"Fine," I grumbled.

Harold continued to stalk me like a creep. I was losing more and more of my patience. Eventually I snapped.

"Alright," I approached him with more attitude. "What's your deal?"

He began walking away. I followed him, hands in my pockets. I followed him out of the school, holding onto my phone for emergencies. I had no idea where he was going, and I was starting to get suspicious. My grip on my phone grew tighter.

Then he turned around.

"I can see why you're the hero," he said. "You're determined."

"Huh?" I asked. I bit my lip. "Do you know about-"

He suddenly ran towards me and knocked me out, turning my world into darkness.


	8. Memory...

I woke up, sitting on a bridge. But not just any bridge.

The bridge from Home Island in Poptropica…

Original Poptropica.

I shook my head, trying to get a better view of my surroundings. I felt a serious sense of deja vu. I was back on the first island again, waking up from dizziness. Ahead I saw Amelia and my beloved Poptropician, Fierce Fox. I smiled and walked towards them, glad to see some familiar faces (yes, play the song if you must).

"Hey, guys!" I walked over to my friends.

"Hello, there, young one!" Amelia waved at me. "Who are you?"

I laughed. "Amelia, you know who I am."

"Uh, I'm afraid I don't," Amelia tilted her head.

I snorted. "Yeah, you do."

Part of me was already paranoid, as it can get, but I forced it down. It was fine. No worries.

Fierce Fox glared at me. "Seriously, who the heck are you?"

"Guys," I furrowed my brow. "This isn't funny."

"What's not funny?" Fierce Fox asked, narrowing her eyes.

I bit my lip. My paranoia increased. "Guys, c'mon. Stop messing with me."

"What the Hell are you talking about?" Fierce Fox asked, briskly.

"I…" I turned away. I was going crazy. Surely this was a joke. If not, a dream.

I went up to the Poptropican next to the theater.

"Hi," I said. "Do you know who I am?"

The Poptropican observed me closely, then shook her head. "Nope."

Sweat appeared on my brow. I asked a few other Poptropicans, only to get the same response.

It didn't make any sense. What was going on?

I tried pinching myself. It had to be a nightmare.

But I didn't wake up.

This was reality.

Then I saw Harold again.

"W… what…" My eyes widened. "How are you…" Anger raced through me; I stood up. "You… what have you done?!"

Harold held out his hand. "I'll show you."

I grabbed his hand, and we were teleported to a world of darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the chapters are short, but they'll get longer, I promise.


	9. An Old Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: If you know me you know I love Greek Mythos and Hades is my favourite god so... HERE'S MORE OF HIM
> 
> HE'S GREAT
> 
> SPOOPY BUT GREAT
> 
> HAPPY READING!

...

I shook my head, coughing up a bit of dust. Harold was next to me, a stern look in his eyes. I looked up; there was a dark roof above me. In fact the whole place was dark, aside from the occasional green torch. I heard moans and screams coming from somewhere in the distance. Bones and gemstones were in the walls. My whole body convulsed from shivers. I sighed, shaking my head. Deja vu was overwhelming.

In other words, I had a pretty good feeling of where I was.

"Am I…?" I looked at Harold.

"Here, yeah, but not dead," he said. "Come with me."

I followed him across a dark path, passing yet another dark wall full of bones. This was the third or fourth time I'd been here. I was almost getting used to it.

Almost.

...

I think I may be the first person ever to say I was relieved to be in the Underworld. I was pretty sure Hades and I were on good terms, so I wouldn't be in danger. Hopefully.

Unless he didn't remember me of course.

Still, he wasn't as crazy as his lovely (vomit sounds here) brother Zeus so I might just get lucky. I kept hoping. It wouldn't really be great to make a god angry.

"Do you know him?" I asked Harold. I shook my head. Harold was definitely not a normal kid. "No, no… who are you? What are you?"

"You'll see," Harold said. "I'm not an enemy, though it may seem like it. I'm just doing what I had to."

"Yeah, I really appreciate my friends forgetting me and then I get dragged to the freakin' Underworld." I grumbled.

Harold rolled his eyes, like it wasn't a big deal. "Chill out, woman, it'll get sorted out. Sheesh. That timeline isn't gone forever." He made a face. "And hey, you're fine down here. Hades has a soft spot for you, though he'd never admit it. That's definitely a good thing, he doesn't tend to like heroes." He shrugged. "Well, you've seen Hercules. You can guess why."

"Does… Hades remember me?" I asked. "I mean, Fierce Fox-"

"He'll remember you," Harold said, raising his brow. "Calm. Down."

I took a tentative step forward, but Harold pulled me back.

"Don't tell him what I said about the soft spot stuff," he whispered. "He'll kill me."

"I'll make sure to do that then." I winked.

"Hey!" Harold growled. I sped off before he could punch me.

We made it to Hades' throne room, and I somehow still got nervous. Well, he was a god. Gods can do some pretty powerful things, I know that much. In Poptropica they're a little more mild, but still. (Save Zeus, although that whole donkey kong thing wasn't really that scary...)

The god himself was sitting on his creepy throne, surrounded by creepy garments, torches, and (you guessed it) creepy, cracked walls. He watched me with dark eyes. I felt inclined to gulp.

"Well," he sighed. "Long time, no see, young hero. I see you have changed a bit. A shame, I did prefer your old hairstyle. Oh well."

"Hello," I replied, almost smirking. Thank goodness someone remembered me, even if it was a creepy Underworld god. "Yeah, it's been a while. I like my hair, fyi." I paused, then laughed. "We really need to catch up when there's no life-saving business."

Hades almost smiled. "Perhaps. But for now, I assume you want answers."

"You know I do." I sighed.

The god sat up straighter. "That is in my job description now, isn't it?" He sighed. "Well, that accomplice of yours that led you here is not just any mortal teenager. He is working for me."

"Really?" I asked.

Hades nodded. "Quite. You see, Louisa's soul somehow escaped from the Underworld, regained a body, and then returned to your world. I sent my assistant here after her to bring her back." He gestured towards Harold, who waved at me.

"Lara…" I glanced at Harold. "She's… Louisa, isn't she?"

Harold nodded. I felt my mouth go dry.

"I..." I croaked out. I wanted to feel relieved that Louisa wasn't dead, but...

"I believe the child wants to take over both our universes," Hades said. "She is tricky. She escaped my clutches, and I believe she knows how to acquire great power, with or without my ridiculous brother. She needs to be stopped before she can gain more power." He stared at me. "I have heard of this new prophecy - it's ridiculous, I know. Another prophecy right the last one. But I do believe it applies to you, and two others. I have my guesses of who these other two could be, but it is really you who must figure out who they are."

"In other words, you want me and two other people to save the world again." I said.

Hades shrugged. "Well, is there really anything else I could be asking for?"

I sighed, clenching my fists. "Well, I don't want to lose any of my worlds. I'll do it. I have to." I didn't want to do it either. I didn't want to die... but I had no choice. This was my life now.

So many people were counting on me. I couldn't let them down.

"Strong-spirited as always," Hades remarked. "But you are not totally alone. Like I said, two others will be with you."

"Yeah, I guess…" I said, still feeling a little nervous. I just wanted a break from prophecies and drama. I didn't want to deal with it all over again.

And if I didn't know the other two... then it wouldn't be great working with strangers. That's when another thought crossed my mind.

"What about Fierce Fox?" I asked. "And… everyone who can't remember me? How come you can remember me when they can't?"

"Ah, this brings me to my next point," the god replied. "There is someone I think you may want to speak to on that nonsensical Dr. Hare's Revenge Island. He will most certainly be of some assistance to you."

"Alright then…" I said, wondering who he was talking about. Was it anyone I knew? Probably not. "I... still don't get how the gods can't just save the world, since they're, well, gods..." I looked away quickly. "No offence!"

"Only heroes can save the world," Hades replied. "They have the ignition, the spirit, the determination. If gods directly interfered with mortal events, things would get... ah, messy. And us gods have our own issues to deal with, as well."

"So... you need heroes." I said.

"Quite," Hades agreed. "Not just us gods, however. Mortals need you too." He paused. "Though, if we can, sometimes gods will indirectly help a hero if it is required."

I nodded. "I... I think I got it. Thank you." I smiled shyly. "I... I owe you one."

"Hmm, is that so?" Hades asked. He had a thoughtful expression. "Well, I do need someone to clean Cerberus' poop…"

"Umm, nevermind," I said, backing away nervously.

Hades had a smirk on his face. "Don't worry, I am only teasing. Such a task is only for the eternally damned."

I breathed out in relief. "Well… like I said before… I could always visit you, if you want…"

"Hmm," Hades looked thoughtful. "Well, it does get a bit lonely around here, sometimes. And I can tolerate you more than other humans… very well, I will allow it."

For some reason, I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

"Well, you had better go," Hades said. "You have some universes to save."

"Wait, one more thing," I held up my hand. I glanced at Harold. "Harold said you have a 'soft spot' for me. Is that true?"

Harold shook his head in denial and waved his hands. He was blushing bright red.

"Did he, now?" Hades asked, now staring at Harold. I wasn't sure if he was amused or annoyed. Maybe both? "You know I don't like most heroes, 'Harold'."

"I was joking, I swear!" Harold panicked. "Don't kill me!"

"What a shame," Hades sighed. "You must've not heard the 'most' part."

Harold tilted his head in confusion.

"You really should go," the god said. "The world can't save itself, can it?"

I had a feeling I had just been complimented in a really strange way. But I couldn't worry about that yet.

The world was depending on me.


	10. Dr. Hare's Revenge

Dr. Hare's Revenge…

A game I hadn't been particularly good at or fond of. I wanted a real island quest, not a mini game.

And, yet, here I was. In the middle of space, in a space station shaped like a cube. Doorways led to a bunch of frustrating levels that involved collecting carrots. I walked around, staring at the silver ceilings, technology, rabbot hats, and other stuff lying around in piles. It was a bit like 24 Carrot Island, but more... spacey.

I passed a rabbot, who didn't offer much helpful advice to my cause. I couldn't see anyone important-looking that I was supposed to talk to. Instead I went down one of the glowing doorways, wondering what the heck I was supposed to do.

I wasn't expecting to see another person there.

A tired-looking Asian guy was hanging out. His long, black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He had stubble on his chin. He had dark brown eyes. His shirt was green with a grey collar. He had a grey belt embedded with pieces of metal, and two black, jewel-crusted bangles around his elbows. His shorts were army-green, and he wore grey sneakers with long, grey socks. His shirt had a weird symbol on it that kinda looked like a 4 with wings.

"Uh… hi?" I greeted.

"Huh?" the guy asked. He looked at me. "Oh, hey. You any good at games?"

"Not this one," I replied. "It took me… well, it would take me ages."

"Well, I bet you'd do a better job at it than me," the guy said, shaking his head. "This stupid game's doing my head in…"

I almost laughed. "This sounds cheesy, but don't give up. You'll get through it."

"Pfft," the guy sighed. "Maybe." He stood up, approaching a doorway that led to one of those frustrating levels. He looked back at me. "You coming?"

"No," I said. "I'm… actually looking for someone. I'm not sure who though."

"Well, not knowing who you're looking for isn't going to help you find them." the guy deadpanned.

"So I figured," I sighed. "Someone else told me to find this person. They didn't tell me anything about them, they just said they'd be here and they'd be helpful."

"Helpful, and in this spaceship," the guy chuckled. He made a face. "They were probably talking about me, weren't they?"

"Well…" I sighed. "Could it be anyone else?"

"That rabbot isn't going to help you with anything aside from this stupid game, so I don't think so," the guy chuckled. He stood up and walked over to me, holding out his hand. "I'm Quiet Sword."

I shook his hand. "I'm Alice."

Quiet Sword smiled. "That's a pretty normal name compared to mine."

"Yeah," I said. I made a face. "So… my... adviser, I guess… said you could help me?"

"Depends what you want me to help you with," Quiet Sword shrugged. "Homework? Housework? Running an errand?"

"How about saving the world?" I asked. "Or helping me figure out my memory crisis?"

"Memory crisis?" Quiet Sword asked. His eyes widened. "Ohhhhhhh. Now I get it. Yeah, I can help you with that." He gestured with his hand for me to follow him. We left the levels area, returning to the main area. "I'd offer you a drink, but I think the only thing they have here is carrot juice," He made a face. "And definitely not a good brand of it."

"It's fine," I said. We sat down nearby a large window, which had a picture of a bunny on it. The view outside was surprisingly pleasant. Stars were spread out for miles, and I could see a galaxy in the distance.

"Dr. Hare is very arrogant, isn't he?" Quiet Sword laughed. "You can't walk three inches without seeing a picture of him or a bunny or a carrot or whatever."

"All villains are arrogant." I agreed.

"And some heroes, too," he added, biting his lip. He shook his head. "So, Alice. You know Super Power Island, right?"

"Yep." I said.

"That island's pretty special," Quiet Sword continued. He stared at the spinning galaxy for a moment. "Sometimes, people get lucky, and get born with powers. Some don't. Some earn powers. Some inherit them, or get given them. For me, I was born with them. My power… was different from other people's. It wasn't just something simple like flight or super strength. It was…" He looked at me. "The power to manipulate timelines."

My eyes widened. "You…" I had no idea that could even be a power. My heart started racing.

"When they found out my power, the world considered me dangerous, especially the gods," Quiet Sword said. "However, it's simple to deactivate my power. It won't work on any island but Super Power Island, at least, not nearly as strongly. I was exiled from my island, and forced to live on Super Villain Island, in a high-security home." He looked sad. "My parents loved me so much that they came with me, but I always felt guilty about it. It wasn't their fault. It was society's fault. I wanted to be a hero, but society wanted me to be a villain."

I patted his shoulder.

"Then…" Quiet Sword bit his lip. "This kid who looked like a goth found me. He offered to get me and my family off Super Villain Island and give us a new home if I agreed to help him with something. I agreed. So he gave me a makeover, and took me back to Super Power Island. And there, he told me he wanted me to use my powers. He wanted me to reset your timeline."

"But… why?" I asked.

Quiet Sword frowned. "There's a plan. It involves the prophecy." He stared at me. "If it works out, we can make it like there was never any prophecy at all here. No Louisa. No Zeus troubles. Nothing. Once and for all, we'll be… safe." He smiled at me. "Can you imagine that? A, ehem, whole new world, where no one's in danger."

"Sounds… good," I smiled back. My smile then shrunk. The consequences dug in. "Wait… does that mean, it'll be like…"

"Well, you'll always be special to Poptropica," Quiet Sword told me. "But not in the same way as before. You'll save Poptropica from all its disasters before they even happen. We… all of us will be heroes."

"All of us?" I asked.

"The prophecy," Quiet Sword replied. "There are three heroes. You, me, I think… and one other person."

"I think I may know who that is," I said. "It's Harold."

"Spot on," Harold appeared before us. I almost jumped out of the window into space.

"Harold?" Quiet Sword asked incredulously. "That's not your name."

"No it's not," Harold nodded.

"Then who are you?" I asked.

'Harold' smiled and nodded at me. "Bellerophon, son of Poseidon and Eurynome at your service.


	11. Bellerophon

"Bellerophon…" I breathed out. "You're… a Greek hero, right?"

Harold, now Bellerophon, nodded. He still looked the same as he did before, so I assumed he was just an emo kid. I knew for one thing his name was super long and annoying, so I'd give him a nickname. Like with other characters. So, even though it's a little feminine, I called him Bell.

"Yeah," Bell said, scratching the back of his neck. "I… died a while ago. It had something to do with Pegasus and Zeus' lightning bolts. And… ever since then, I've been looking for a chance to redeem myself." He folded his arms. "Hercules got so much glory, and trust me, he's just as bad as I was. Even worse! You've met him, right? He acts like he's got a stick up his…" He sighed.

"Something tells me you weren't… the greatest hero." I said, raising my brow.

Bell bit his lip, looking away.

"I did heroic things," he said. "I am a hero."

"You were." I pointed out. Bell glared at me.

"Look," he grunted. "I'm coming back, okay? I'm coming back, reformed, as a new hero. A better hero. A hero that'll be even stronger than Hercules."

"How?" I asked.

"I made a deal with Hades," Bell answered. "I do some favours for him, I get to come back to life. One of those included going after Louisa. How she escaped, I don't know. Even the freaking god of the Underworld himself doesn't know." He paused. "Anyway, I went after her. I pretended to be her brother. I made sure to keep an eye on her, and attempt to bring her back. It was tricky stuff. She was a little leech. Always managing to slip away." Another pause. "Then I heard all about you, and I knew you could help me. You are the prophecy girl, after all."

"Really?" I asked, kind of tentatively. This guy didn't seem to be the nicest person.

"Duh," Bell said, rolling his eyes. "With your help, I can redeem myself as a hero. I'll be the greatest hero this world has ever known!"

"You think I want to help you inflate your already huge ego?" I grumbled. Quiet Sword was eyeing Bell with disdain. Bell rolled his eyes.

"Look, it sounds narcissistic, but I do want to help the world," he argued. "Poptropica's my home as much as it is yours. I want to protect it!"

"Sounds like you want the fame more." I pointed out. Quiet Sword nodded in agreement.

"Come on," Bell frowned. "You can't say that fame isn't good at all. You can't say you don't enjoy it, even a little bit."

"It's annoying to have no privacy." I said. I never liked that about being the hero. It was weird having complete strangers recognise you (and sometimes try to kill you). But in a strange way, he was almost right. People knew me. I wasn't ignored. I was... popular.

"So?" Bell asked. He folded his arms. "I swear, you are insufferable."

"Right back at you." I grunted. "I mean… you lied to me! You could've told me the truth about yourself from the start!"

"No, I couldn't have," Bell said. "I had to keep it a secret. If word got out about me and Louisa, we'd be dead! No one could know the truth until now. We had to keep it a secret. Don't you get that? You didn't tell anyone aside from your stupid friends about this Poptropica stuff, right?"

I flinched at 'stupid'. "What if the police found out? They'd take me in for testing, I'd be…" Then I understood his point.

"Exactly," Bell said, condescendingly. "These things best be kept secret. I thought you would understand that."

How was this guy a hero? I thought. He's a jerk!

"Well," Quiet Sword cleared his throat. "We have bigger fish to fry. We're the heroes of the prophecy. We need to figure out how to save the world."

"That's what I'm all about." Bell snorted.

I sighed. "Then how are we gonna do it?"

Quiet Sword smiled at me. "I think this is where I come in."


	12. Louisa returns

The plan was almost so ridiculous I wasn't sure I could comprehend it. But this was Poptropica. Nothing made sense here. Normal logic was thrown out the window.

And besides, there was a chance it might actually work.

Might.

It all started when my new friends and I gathered in a small circle.

"I can't believe this," Bell shook his head. "You'd think I'd be used to this, but nope, I still find it all nuts."

"We have to try." Quiet Sword insisted. I nodded in agreement, as much as I thought this plan was bollocks myself.

I still felt bad about Louisa's death, even though it was ages ago. As terrible as she'd been, she didn't deserve to die.

I sighed.

It was time to turn back the clock. It was time to save Louisa from her own demise.

We were going to make sure Zeus never got a hold of her. She didn't need any more torment. And besides, she was Chrissi's friend, and Chrissi missed her too. I didn't want Chrissi to be upset anymore either.

Quiet Sword grabbed onto my arm, and Bell's too. And the world disappeared in a flash of light.

We woke up on a beach. I coughed up some sand, the scent of the ocean filling my nostrils. My accomplices also stood up, shaking sand out of their shoes. We glanced at each other.

We were on Mythology Island. I could tell by the temples and statues in the distance. A few people sitting on lounge chairs were scattered in my far peripheral vision.

"Oh gods…" Bell sounded shocked. I soon understood why.

Lying on the beach, with her hair and limbs sprayed out, was Louisa Van Tulleken.

I almost had a panic attack, before realising she wasn't actually dead. Her chest was moving up and down, signifying life. Still, I couldn't help but be disturbed. She didn't look like she'd been having a good few days. Her skin was pale, and her glasses were cracked. Her skin was covered in scratches and bruises. Her grey sweatshirt and jeans were full of holes. Her hair was dry, probably because of all the seawater.

"Louisa…" I knelt down, putting my hand on her forehead. I bit my lip.

"We should get her away from here," Bell said. "Before you-know-who finds her."

I knew he didn't mean Voldemort. Though I think I would've rather faced him than an actual god…

We sat Louisa up. She stirred a bit, her eyes fluttering.

"She's waking up…" Quiet Sword said, frowning. "Everyone, keep calm. We don't want to scare her."

I wondered how hard that was going to be. Louisa, in some way, was kind of scary herself.

Louisa's blue eyes finally opened. She rubbed her head, before staring at us. She crawled backwards, panic all over her face.

"A-Alice?" She stared at me. "What are you…" She looked at the others. "Wh-what? What's going on? Who are you people?! Where am I?!"

"Louisa," I said, in the most calm tone I could imagine. Her voice, her face, it all made my heart ache with guilt. "It's okay. You're… you're really far from home. But don't worry, we can get you out of here."

"Really far from home?" Louisa repeated. Her gaze turned harsh. "H-how do you know? How do we get out of here?"

"First thing's first…" I held out my hand. "We shouldn't be out in the open like this. There's… someone who wants to kill you."

"What?!" Louisa's eyes widened in shock.

"Screaming isn't going to help you," Bell grumbled. "So shut up."

"Hey!" I glared at Bell. "Be nice."

Bell snorted, rolling his eyes. Quiet Sword shot him a look.

"Come on," I gently grabbed Louisa's arm. "Ignore him. He's stupid. We'll go closer to Hades' temple. Should be less trouble there…"

"Do we have to?" Bell grumbled. I resisted the urge to ditch him.

"Hades?" Louisa asked. "You mean, like, the Greek god? Are we in Ancient Greece or something?"

"Eh… close enough," I shrugged. "Oh, and the Greek gods are all real. Same with general mythology. In this world, at least. But that's another story. We need to go before-"

I was interrupted by a flash of light that almost blinded me. Panic made me stutter. I took in a deep breath, trying not to fall over.

"Louisa, listen to me," I yelled out blindly. "You cannot trust Zeus. Don't join him."

A sharp kick impaled itself into my side. I flopped over, clutching my hip.

"Alice!" I heard Quiet Sword's voice.

"What the Hades?" Bell's eyes widened.

I looked up. A knife was pressed against my throat. It belonged to Louisa. But not the Louisa we'd found.

Future Louisa. I could tell by the maniac hidden in her eyes. Past Louisa didn't have that. All she had was fear and innocence.

"You really think you can change history?" she hissed. Past Louisa was trembling, hiding behind the boys.

"Louisa…" I bit my lip. "We don't have a choice if we want to save the world. If you want to survive."

"No!" Louisa roared, bringing the blade closer to my throat. "This world doesn't deserve to be saved. No world ruined by you should be saved. You can't do anything more here. You're just like your dad, Alice Manchester. You are a criminal, a liar, a fake. You'll let everyone down just like you let yourself down. Don't you see? I'm protecting everyone from you. If you're even the slightest bit decent, you'll let me stop you."

I wanted to reply, but as always, my voice failed me. I just stayed still.

Past Louisa was watching in horror. Quiet Sword was trembling. Even Bell looked upset. He stepped forward.

"Listen, you crazy lady," he growled. "Lay off. I don't like Alice much, but out-right killing her won't help with anything. So get off her."

Louisa ignored him. So naturally, he raced forward and tackled her. The two rolled across the beach, breathing and cursing furiously. I stood up, my whole body shaking. My head echoed and pounded with Louisa's words.

Criminal. Liar. Fake.

I watched the fight, breathing nervously. Bell managed to punch Louisa in the face, but she retaliated by slicing his cheek, almost cutting his eye out.

"What is all this?" Past Louisa cried. I couldn't blame her. I was confused too. No. Mortified.

I shook my head.

"We really need to get you out of here." I told Past Louisa.

"Was that all true? What she said?" Past Louisa asked me. She frowned. "It… it had to be, didn't it? You're…" She glared at me, a flicker of hatred in her eyes. "I won't go with you."

"No, Louisa, you don't understand," I held up my arms. "You're doomed to die if you stay here! Zeus will use you. He'll kill you. It sounds weird, but-"

"You're a liar." Past Louisa stomped away from me. I held out my hand, but Quiet Sword shook his head.

"We can try again," he said, squeezing my shoulder. "That's the beauty of resetting."

That made me feel a little better, I guess. I gave my friend a small smile, then glanced back at the fight. Bell had Louisa pinned down. His teeth were bared.

"Got her," he told us. "Now you-"

He was interrupted when Louisa stabbed him through the stomach.

"No!" I screamed. Hot tears began streaming down my cheeks, despite everything. I couldn't stand the sight of murder.

Quiet Sword had gone completely pale. Bell fell to his side, in a pool of blood. He didn't look at peace. I couldn't blame him. I felt like I'd been stabbed too. Now I regretted calling him stupid. He wasn't stupid. He was brave. He could've been a great hero, just like Hercules.

Even Past Louisa was shocked.

I almost wanted to laugh. Only when you lose something, you realise how much you appreciate it.

Future Louisa turned to me with a hate-filled glare, her front splattered with blood. I felt sick, angry, horrified, and so many other feelings I couldn't identify.

I felt bad for wondering if Louisa dying in the original timeline was for the best.

"This is why," I looked at Past Louisa, my voice broken. "This is what I'm trying to save you from…"

Future Louisa raced towards me. Quiet Sword shoved me out of her knife's reach.

"Alice, we have to get out of here." he said, gripping my arm. His voice was weak. I just made a noise, that sounded like a whimper and a cough.

"She murdered him…" I said. Now I knew my real feelings. I felt broken. I had witnessed murder once before. Now I had to see it all again. I didn't want to put up with this anymore. I wanted to scream and hide. I was sick of this.

For the first time, I wished I'd never come to Poptropica.

"Alice…" Quiet Sword's voice was almost a whisper. Like his name, he wasn't a loud person. He was kinder than Bell had been. Yet, he could be dangerous, too. A quiet sword…

I wanted Bellerophon back.

Future Louisa came up to me, the murderous glint still in her eyes.

"Say goodnight." She hissed. Oh Louisa. If only I knew the truth, if only…

I barely registered the knife that landed in my back. I was sick of this life anyway.


	13. Death

Death was cold. I suppose it was better than feeling nothing. But still, it was cold, and miserable. It felt like my soul had been sucked into the void. My essence, my life, it was all gone.

No. Death was peaceful. Murder was the thing that hurt.

The screams of outrage, the evil smile of satisfaction, the cruelty of the murderer… that's what hurt me. How a life, my life, could be taken so easily. How it was all over, right there and then. I felt the disappoint from my friends wash over me. The gods shaking their heads. My mother screaming and crying. Chrissi and Marcus were crying over my grave. Fierce Fox glaring at everyone. Quiet Sword with fury in his eyes.

And then I woke up.

I was panting heavily, sweat pouring down my face. Quiet Sword, and Bell (who I was actually very relieved to see, believe it or not) were standing above me, looking concerned. Well, Bell was trying to hide his concern, but he wasn't doing a very good job of it.

"Alice!" Quiet Sword grabbed my hands, helping me sit up. He had a kind look in his eyes as he gave me a gentle hug. I slowly returned it. We had grown pretty close, despite not knowing each other for that long. I suppose that's what happens with life and death. You suddenly become attached to everyone.

"Well, you're… not so dead, and neither am I." Bell remarked. He looked away, and coughed awkwardly. Pretty sure he wasn't going to hug me.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Quiet Sword asked me, ignoring Bell.

"I… I dunno…" I replied, biting my lip. I really didn't know. My stomach was doing flips, and my head was aching. That feeling had latched itself into me like a parasite. It was awful… I wasn't even sure how to feel. I had never felt so terrible before in my entire life, excluding when my dad died. I wanted to run into hiding. I wanted to disappear off the face of the Earth.

I was anything but okay.

"You look like you've seen Medusa," Bell scoffed. "You're definitely not okay."

Wonderful, Bellerophon could identify my feelings. I gave him a harsh look.

Quiet Sword shot Bell a glare and turned back to me.

"I hate to say it, but we need to go back," he said. "To.. the past. And… try again."

"Oh… God, no…" I trembled. The thought of that feeling again... the murder... I resisted a scream of pain. It was worse than anything else. Even loss.

"She's traumatised, idiot," Bell said, glaring at Quiet Sword. "She wouldn't want to go back so quickly."

If I wasn't so scared I would've been more surprised Bell was being empathetic.

"I know, but…" Quiet Sword trailed off. "It's… kind of a matter of life and death."

"I don't want to go back…" I said, standing up. "N-never again…"

Bell gave Quiet Sword an 'I told you so' look. Quiet Sword ignored his friend and turned to me.

"Alice…" He held out his hand, but I stepped backwards. I ran away. I didn't know where I was going, but I didn't care. I just wanted to get away. I heard the voices of my friends in the distance, but I ignored them too.

I don't remember where I went. But I do remember running into Fierce Fox at some point. She pulled me over to the side, suspicion in her fiery, yellow eyes.

"Who the Hell are you?" she demanded. I broke free and ran away again. I thought I heard her chasing after me, but I didn't pay a lot of attention to it. In fact the whole journey was a blur. It's like my brain hated it so much it removed the memory from my head.

I kept running, and running, and lost track of where I was going. And then I slipped, and everything went dark...

"Alice." a voice called from somewhere. That voice. It was so familiar…

Then I recognised it.

"Athena…?" I called out. The goddess herself appeared before me, glowing golden. I bowed my head.

"Alice," she repeated. "You mustn't run away from this."

"I know, it's just…" I dug my nails into my arms. "I… I don't think I can face that again…"

"You must," Athena insisted. "Sometimes, heroes have to make sacrifices for the greater good of the world. That is part of why they are heroes."

"But I'm not a hero," I said, biting my lip. "I was forced into this… prophecy stuff. I never asked for it."

"Is that really true?" Athena asked. "You are the one that would do anything to protect Poptropica."

I realised she had a point. I loved Poptropica, and there was no way I'd want anything bad to happen to it. But I wasn't the most heroic person. Heck, most of the people I'd met had been more heroic than me. Everyone would be dead if it weren't for them. Not me.

"Maybe…" I said. "But… it's just…"

"The prophecy wouldn't have chosen you if you were not a hero," Athena assured me. "You have proven your strength before. You can do it again. That is what makes you a hero. Despite everything you have gone through, you are still here, and you will keep fighting. You can't let the world down. You must stay strong."

I sighed, looking off into the distance.

"I'm not the hero," I said. "Everyone else is."

"A hero is never alone," Athena replied. "It is necessary for them to have guidance from companions."

I stared at my hands. They were covered in dirt.

"Not getting over your loss is what brought you down in the first place," Athena said. "Do you really want that to happen again?"

I didn't.

Athena helped me stand up. "You must not give up. A true hero never gives up."

That's how I beat Zeus in the first place, I thought. If I'd given up...

And everything dissolved into light.


	14. Let's fix the future

And so, we were forced into the vortex of the past once again. We had a different plan this time. We were pretty much going to kidnap Louisa right there and then, and bring her into hiding, away from the gods. Risk-free. Not really, but we didn't have much of a choice.

At least my friends were being supportive. Bell wasn't being as sarcastic and Quiet Sword was as kind as ever. I slowly realised I was really starting to care about them. I didn't want them to get hurt. I wanted to live for their sakes. They were truly my friends.

So that's where we were. Back on the beach, where Louisa was.

"Ready or not," Bell sighed. "Here we come."

We walked over to Louisa's body. Carefully hauling her up, we carried her away. We hid in a bushy area, the shadows covering us. Louisa's blue eyes fluttered beneath her cracked glasses.

"Lou…" I breathed out. I hadn't used that name in ages. It felt… nostalgic, but sad, too.

"W… what?" Louisa's voice croaked out. Quiet Sword and Bell stared at each other.

"Hey," I said, calmly. "It's okay."

"Alice?!" Louisa stared at me with wide eyes. "W… what are you doing here?!"

"Long story," I replied. "But… I need you to listen to me." I paused, my eyes watering. "I'm… sorry. I'm sorry about what happened to your mom. I wish I could turn back time. I wish I could make you happy again. I wish I could bring back the past. But… I'm only human. There's only so much I can do." I sighed. "Now… now I just want to help you. I want to save you from your fate. I don't want you to die. I don't want you to suffer either." I held out my hand. "Let's try this from the start. Maybe… maybe we can really be friends."

Louisa stared incredulously at my outstretched palm.

"Seriously?" She asked. "I don't even know where I am and you want me to trust you?" She looked at my friends. "And who the hell are these guys?!"

"You don't know where you are, but you do know me," I pointed out. "I'm the only thing you do know. You don't have much of a choice otherwise."

Louisa gritted her teeth. I had a feeling I'd hit the nail on the head.

"And besides," Bell jumped in. "We're not psychos. I happen to be the leader here, and these are my lackeys."

I ignored him. "We won't hurt you. I can vouch for that much. Just… come with us, okay? I swear on my life you won't get hurt and I'll answer all your questions."

Louisa frowned, and reluctantly grabbed my hand. She frowned, her tone resentful. "Fine. Firstly, where the Hell am I?"

"Ever heard of a game called Poptropica?" I asked.

"Uh, what does that have to do with anything?" Louisa asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Just answer the question." I sighed.

Louisa frowned. "Well, I've heard of it, yeah. Isn't it some kids' game?"

"Technically," I replied, shifting uncomfortably.

"Hey," Bell sneered, glaring at Louisa. "This is not a 'kid's' game. This is reality."

"What?" Louisa asked, returning his glare.

"Well, um," I cleared my throat. "What if I told you… that Poptropica… um, exists in another universe? As in, it's a real place?"

"What?" Louisa repeated.

"Poptropica ia real." I said, bluntly.

"And, um, that's where you are now!" Quiet Sword added.

"Bull crap!" Louisa growled. "I'm not in some kid's game! That's stupid!"

I kind of wanted to laugh. I knew how that felt.

"It sounds weird… I know," I said. "But, trust me. It's all real. And… in another timeline here, you died. That's what we're trying to stop."

Louisa just stared at me with wide eyes. "R… really?" She paused for a moment, muttering quietly under her breath. "Timelines… are… are you from the future, or something? I mean, your leg..."

"Yeah, actually," I said. I tried not to think about my leg. It wasn't a positive memory. Let's just say I didn't miss it. "From about two years in the future. My past self is already entering Poptropica on a nightly basis. There's this big prophecy here that says a hero from another world will either save Poptropica or end it, and basically the big baddie, Zeus, finds you and uses you for his advantage."

"Zeus?" Louisa asked. "From... Greek Mythology?"

"Well, yeah, except he's in Poptropica," I said. "There's a lot of different islands on Poptropica and all of them have different characters and themes, Greek Mythology being one of them. Google it at some point."

Louisa sighed. "Okay. Okay. I'll just… get it through my head. How did I get here, though?"

"I'm… not actually sure," I said. "I think the same way I got here: the prophecy's power."

"The prophecy… I… why did I get dragged into this?" Louisa asked, clenching her fists. She was bundling up piles of sand. "Why me? Why you?"

"That's life…" I said, staring at my shoes. "Nothing makes sense."

"Wow," Bell gasped sarcastically. "You said something smart for once!"

"Hey," Quiet Sword gave Bell a glare. He turned to Louisa, with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about… all this. I'm Quiet Sword. That's Bellerophon, and, well… you already know Alice."

Louisa stood up, brushing sand off her top. She shook hands with the boys.

"I probably won't get used to it, but thanks anyway." she said. She turned to me. "So… how do I get home?"

"We'll take you there," I said. "Then, maybe, all our problems will be resolved."

"That was easier than expected," Louisa almost chuckled. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go."

I looked at Quiet Sword.

"I hope this will be the last time," he said. "It's draining enough using my powers away from home. I won't be able to do it again after this."

"Then let's hope we'll get a happy ending." I replied, with a small smile.

And we disappeared into the future.

…

...

Only to land in a dystopia.

The sky was ink-black, with only a few stray bolts of lightning slithering through the stormy clouds like snakes. All around me was destruction. Buildings, statues, everything was a cracked mess. I could smell fire burning in the distance and crows cawing. The seas were wild and crazy, and the Earth was shivering. It was cold, but dry. Noisy, but so void of life.

An emptiness settled inside me, like a weight. I almost fell over.

"What the Hades?!" Bell yelled. Quiet Sword was speechless.

"Wh-what is this?!" Louisa asked. "Alice, wh-what's going on?!"

This was still Mythology Island, but…

What happened?

That's when a different Louisa appeared. Her hair was darker and longer, and whipped all across her face. Her glasses were cracked and her clothes were torn. Her pale skin was drenched in bruises and cuts. Her eyes had reduced to wild slits.

"What?!" Past Louisa screamed, going behind the boys.

"You!" the different Louisa boomed, pointing at me. "This is YOUR fault, Alice!"

I opened my mouth to speak, but the different Louisa didn't wait.

"You changed history, and look what you've done!" she roared. "You should've let me be killed! You ruined everything!"

"What?" I cried out. "Louisa, listen-"

"No!" Louisa screamed. "I won't listen to you anymore! You're… you're EVIL!"

Suddenly rage hit me like a bullet. I wasn't going to take it anymore. I was done with being pushed around.

"I WAS TRYING TO SAVE THE WORLD!" I screamed back. "I WAS TRYING TO SAVE YOU!"

"YOU DIDN'T SAVE ANYONE!" Louisa roared. "AND NO ONE'S GONNA SAVE YOU NOW!" She raised a knife.

"LOUISA!" I yelled.

And then she lunged towards me.


	15. The Truth

For the second time in what I considered what wasn't long enough, a knife was pressed against my throat. From none other than Louisa Van Tullekan, of course.

"Louisa…" I gulped. Fear tingled through me. I began to sweat. Not again.

"Hey," Bell grumbled, storming over to Louisa. "She's annoying, but don't kill her again."

Helpful as always, Bellerophon...

"She ruined this timeline!" Louisa roared, pushing him away. "Look what she's done!"

"You did all this?" Past Louisa stared at me with wide eyes.

"No!" I replied. "I would never-"

"You would, and you did!" Future Louisa growled. Quiet Sword and Bell stood in front of me.

"Listen, psycho," Bell folded his arms. "You think murdering Alice is gonna solve all your problems?"

"Psycho?!" Louisa spat.

"He has a point," Quiet Sword said, more calmly. "Killing Alice won't help you."

"This is all her fault!" Louisa bellowed, taking a step closer.

"No, it's our fault," Quiet Sword said, scowling. His tone wasn't loud, but it did have For the second time in what I considered what wasn't long enough, a knife was pressed against my throat. From none other than Louisa Van Tullekan, of course.

"Louisa…" I gulped. Fear tingled through me. I began to sweat. Not again.

"Hey," Bell grumbled, storming over to Louisa. "She's annoying, but don't kill her again."

Helpful as always, Bellerophon...

"She ruined this timeline!" Louisa roared, pushing him away. "Look what she's done!"

"You did all this?" Past Louisa stared at me with wide eyes.

"No!" I replied. "I would never-"

"You would, and you did!" Future Louisa growled. Quiet Sword and Bell stood in front of me.

"Listen, psycho," Bell folded his arms. "You think murdering Alice is gonna solve all your problems?"

"Psycho?!" Louisa spat.

"He has a point," Quiet Sword said, more calmly. "Killing Alice won't help you."

"This is all her fault!" Louisa bellowed, taking a step closer.

"No, it's our fault," Quiet Sword said, scowling. His tone wasn't loud, but it did have some of sort threatening undertone. It made me realise, as sweet as he was, even Quiet Sword could be scary sometimes. "We're in this plan together. All of us are to blame, not just Alice." He looked at me. "And I'm the one with the power to bend timelines… if anything, you should be mad at me." some of sort threatening undertone. It made me realise, as sweet as he was, even Quiet Sword could be scary sometimes. "We're in this plan together. All of us are to blame, not just Alice." He looked at me. "And I'm the one with the power to bend timelines… if anything, you should be mad at me."

Louisa glared at Quiet Sword, her lip trembling. She looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't figure out what.

"You just want to blame it on Alice because you hate her," Quiet Sword continued. "Right?"

Louisa scowled again. "Like you know anything, you-"

"How about we do something more productive," Bell stepped forward. "Such as, y'know, saving the world?" He gave Louisa a hard stare. "Where's Future Alice? Alice from this timeline?"

The temperature suddenly dropped, and the skies were filled with dark clouds. The wind picked up, blowing through my hair. My heart rate suddenly increased. Storms had the power to make me nervous. Understandably enough.

"Oh no," Future Louisa paled. "We should get out of here."

I had a feeling I should agree with her. The feeling was mutual with everyone else. I stood up, Quiet Sword holding onto my arm, almost like a gentleman. He looked very nervous.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning almost blinded me. Smoke cleared, and standing there was the King of the Gods, Zeus.

The god looked… slightly different. Power was flowing around him, and his eyes were glowing. His tunic was more like a cape, and it stretched out like waves. Black energy was shimmering around too. Not good.

We all stared at him with horror.

"Imbecilic mortals!" he boomed, his voice shaking me to the core. He was definitely more powerful than the last time I'd seen him. "Alice is dead! Her power is mine!"

Then it clicked.

I was the one who had died instead of Louisa.

And then my vision went dark.


	16. The True Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oof I forgot to say, my FFN profile pic right now is a picture of Quiet Sword, drawn by TwilaHolmes. XD Feel free to check it out.

I didn't know who I was anymore.

Everything about me was a lost cause, a void. I couldn't even remember my own name. I couldn't remember anything at all, for that matter. Who was I? Who was I meant to be? I didn't know anymore. It's like I had been reborn, but instead of moving into a new life I was stuck in the middle with my past life gone.

I wasn't sure how I felt. I didn't know what words to use to describe my feelings. I was just docile, empty, nothing. It was almost peaceful. It would've been if I didn't feel so… nothing.

Then I started seeing things. I saw a lot of people I didn't recognise. I heard voices calling out my name. I didn't know who they were. I kept seeing lots of different places as well, places I felt I should know. But of course I didn't.

Everything just came by and happened. None of it had any meaning. I didn't have any meaning. I was just a lost cause. Just as I'd always been.

That's what my life had been. A lost cause.

...

And that's when I heard a voice.

This voice was different from the others. It had a sense of meaning, familiarity, to it. It was like a beacon of light in a cavern of darkness. I found myself reaching out for it. It was my last hope.

"Alice…" the voice whispered. I saw someone standing there. She was familiar. Somehow, I knew her.

She helped me stand up. Her eyes were fierce, like she was not afraid to take on the world. We stared at each other for a few moments.

"I know you." I said. My voice was working.

"Of course you do," the girl said, like it was obvious. "You've known me for a long time."

"Fierce Fox?" I asked.

"Who else?" Fierce Fox smiled. It was so good to see that smile. "I've got something to show you. Follow me." She walked off. I followed her. We were walking through an empty space, our steps echoing. They seemed to echo for eons and eons, as if they were travelling through time and space.

We paused in the middle of the room. Fierce Fox stared at me, her eyes twinkling. For some reason, I smiled. I felt something. Peace.

"You think you know the prophecy?" Fierce Fox asked me.

"Um… yeah?" I asked.

"I mean," Fierce Fox held up a hand. "Do you know who it really refers to?"

"Um…" I bit my lip. The names came to my head. "Quiet Sword, Bellerophon, and me, right?"

Fierce Fox had a knowing glint in her eyes. "Maybe think about that a little more."

I didn't know what she meant. We were the heroes of the prophecy, right? One home again, that was me, one competitive, that was Bell, and one shaking in fear had to be Quiet Sword. Right?

I gave Fierce Fox a confused stare. She just laughed.

"Who's really home again, Alice?" she asked. "You've already found your home. It's not here anymore. You care about this place, yeah, but it's not home."

"I…" She did have a point. As I'd settled more and more into my world, I felt more at peace. I still loved Poptropica, of course, but my world was now my home. I felt like I belonged there. Sure, it could be difficult, but I had finally adjusted. I had friends, a loving family...

But if I wasn't a hero of the prophecy, who was?

I thought about it for a while. It seemed time was endless here. I gazed into Fierce Fox's eyes again, and it hit me. Fierce Fox had been looking for her identity again, since it had been taken. She was looking for her place to belong. She didn't belong with her family, and she was never truly satisfied back in Poptropica. And now she had found it, on Poptropica Worlds. Doing quests, hanging out with friends. Finally, she was Home Again.

"It's you," I breathed. "You're the hero."

Fierce Fox just gave me that arrogant smile of hers.

"You're the one we need to save the world," I said. "I… need to find you in the real world, don't I?"

"Do you have a choice?" Fierce Fox asked.

"I guess not," I almost smiled. "Thank you."

Fierce Fox waved me off. And my journey began.


	17. Fierce Fox

I woke up with a sweat. I was sitting on a hard surface, rocks towering above me. The sky was completely grey, and I could hear thunder booming in the distance.

I stood up, gripping the rocky walls of the cavern. My head was spinning. I had no idea where I was. But I did know one thing: I needed to find Fierce Fox.

I walked around the small space that was the cavern, the light from the grey sky hitting my face. The cavern wasn't very big, and there weren't any exits that I could see. The only plausible thing I could do was climb, and rock-climbing wasn't really a strength of mine.

I searched my pockets, hoping maybe I had something helpful, but the only thing I had was pieces of thread and a lollipop stick. So I was on my own.

The walls were rocky enough to grab onto, at least. And if I was still in Poptropica, my jumping would be increased and I wouldn't take fall damage.

I grabbed onto the rocks, and began hoisting myself up. I dug my boots into the wall, surprising a yelp when I almost slipped.

Slow and steady, I told myself. You can do this.

Instead I found myself wishing I'd gone to boot camp. I was really under-prepared. If I hadn't been in Poptropica I probably would've died.

...

I continued my way up the wall, my fingernails cracked and bleeding. My legs were fine, if not a bit tired. Mentally I was starting to get very tired. Fierce Fox would be done with this wall within five minutes. Or less.

A sense of self-doubt rested over me. No wonder she was the hero of the prophecy. I wasn't good enough anymore.

Eventually, I made it to the top of the wall. I sucked my fingernails, ignoring the coppery tang of blood in my mouth. I observed the area around me. I was still on Mythology Island. Well, the messed up version of it anyway. All signs of life were either dead or missing. There were a few statues of Zeus, and all others had been destroyed. Some temples were on fire. The air was thick and hard to swallow, and the sky was a dark grey. In the distance, I thought I heard a scream.

In other words, Zeus-tropica sucked.

Hugging myself, I walked through the mess that was my favourite island, a rainy, bitter breeze blowing through my hair. There was a wetness on my cheeks. I realised it was tears.

Louisa was right. This was my fault. I'd ruined everything.

I sank down to my knees, trembling and weeping softly. I felt like myself back before I went to Poptropica, when I was empty, weak, broken. A nothing, a nobody. I wondered if I had ever really changed after all. Maybe not. I was still just a nothing, in the end. A waste of space. A waste of time.

I was gulping in big breaths of that awful air, unable to stop crying. I was almost hoping Zeus would appear and kill me. I didn't want to be like this anymore.

I just wanted to die.

Hey, a little voice in my head said. It sounded like my dad, strangely. And then my mom. And a lot of other people as well. Reassuring. Yeah, you made some mistakes. It happens to everyone. But not being able to let go? Alice, this happened before! That was why you let people pick on you. If you make the same mistake, everyone will die!

But what if I fail them anyway? I replied.

Trying is better than nothing at all, the voice said. You're still a hero of Poptropica. This world needs you to save it.

The voice had a point. I sat up, brushing the warm tears off my cheeks.

Fierce Fox, I said. That's who I need.

I got up, hugging myself once again. This time, however, I had a new found determination. I stormed through the island, ignoring the breeze blowing through my hair. For a brief moment, I felt fearless. Just like Fierce Fox. Maybe she would be proud.

I had a feeling Fierce Fox wouldn't be on this island. She was more likely to be on Home Island or Mocktropica. I didn't want to know what those islands would look like. Probably full of Zeus clones.

Then the question begged: How was I going to get off this island? I didn't have a blimp, and I couldn't fly or teleport (obviously). I wasn't sure about sailing, either, because Zeus might be messing up the ocean.

I sat there, trying to figure out what the heck I was supposed to do, when someone sat next to me. They were wearing a pink cloak that covered their head, with black boots. A flower necklace garnished their neck.

"Uh… hi?" I said.

"You don't remember me?" the person asked, with a feminine voice. I recognised that voice.

"Aphrodite?" I asked.

"Yep, but call me Aph," Aphrodite smiled, taking off her hood. Her strawberry-blonde hair was done back in a neat bun, and her face was covered in makeup. "I'm incognito. I don't want certain gods knowing where I am."

"Okay, Aph," I said. I was almost lost in her beauty. "So… um…"

"You look pretty lost, Alice," Aphrodite chuckled. "Need some help?"

"Yeah," I said, blushing. "I'm looking for Fierce Fox."

"Oh, her?" Aphrodite raised her brow. "You must be crazy. Fierce Fox is a nutter. After you 'died', she just vanished."

I gulped. "I… I still need to see her, though. She's the hero of the prophecy."

"You're the hero of the prophecy!" Aphrodite laughed. She frowned. "Well, then again, you're supposed to be dead. But I'm not that surprised to see you. I had a feeling you'd come back. Prophecies don't lie."

"I'm talking about a different prophecy," I said. "I'm… actually from a different timeline. I'm not the Alice from here. She died. So she's actually dead."

"I see," Aphrodite nodded. "Well, I guess you must know what you're doing. Perhaps you'll be able to handle… her." She pursued her lips. Then she turned around, holding out a mirror. She muttered a spell of some kind, before turning back to me.

"This mirror will take you to Fierce Fox," she said.

"Thanks." I said, taking the mirror. I glanced over it. I hoped it wasn't a trick.

Aphrodite sighed. "No, Alice, the mirror is perfectly safe. I cannot bring myself to serve Zeus. Look what he's done to my beautiful island." She shook her head. "He ruined everything. We only respect him out of fear. But we do not like him. Perhaps that's what he wants to be seen as." She patted my shoulder. "Good luck, Alice. Fate depends on you."

She disappeared, leaving behind the scent of roses. I sighed, glancing over the mirror one more time. A rose was in the centre of it. I breathed in deeply, and pressed it. My world went white.

I had the headache of the century when I woke up.

The island around me didn't make it much better. Things were flying around in the sky: cows, Poptropicans, buildings. The ground kept changing from blue to yellow to countless other colours. I was pretty sure I was gonna get a headache. The wind was somehow glitchy as well, which wasn't helping my ears in any way. Rainbows were flying across the sky as well. Don't ask why.

"Fierce Fox?" I called out, my voice glitching and changing pitch. I looked around, narrowly avoiding a flying cow crashing into me. Yeah, that actually happened.

Then someone knocked me over, and grabbed my throat. If they hadn't, I would've gasped in surprise.

It was Fierce Fox.


	18. Reunited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, I was on holiday. :/

She wasn't the Fierce Fox I'd known. The look in her eyes was crazy, broken… inhuman. Her clothes were a few shades darker, and her red hair was long and messy, uncontrollable. Just like her temper. Her skin was covered in bruises of many different colours.

I could understand what Aph was warning me about. Fierce Fox and I hadn't even talked yet and I could already tell something was wrong.

"H-hey," I said, trying to keep my voice calm. "Remember me?"

Fierce Fox lunged towards me. I stepped back in surprise, holding my hands out. I almost crashed into a glitching tree.

"Fierce…" I breathed, not being able to form 'fox'. "Calm down."

She didn't calm down. She lunged for me again; I narrowly avoided getting my head knocked in.

"Look, I get that you probably think I'm dead, or something," I said, my voice increasing and decreasing in tone. "It's a long story. I… I just need you to listen."

She didn't want to listen, either. She lunged at me for a third time, holding out her lightning staff. I narrowly avoided the electric tip. My skin crawled with anxiety.

I missed the old Fierce Fox so badly. As feisty as she was…

She wasn't crazy. And we were friends.

"Why…?" I found myself asking, through shaky breaths. "Why are you… how…" I stared at her. "What happened to you?"

Fierce Fox's breathing sped up. The look in her eyes… I remembered it from somewhere. I searched my memory frantically, biting my lip. And that's when it hit me.

...

"Great." Fierce Fox grumbled. I raised my brow at her as we walked to an elevator. "He's a family friend. My dad's best friend."

"Who's your dad?" I asked. I gazed in the other direction. "If you don't mind me asking."

"He doesn't work here," Fierce Fox answered. She frowned. "But he's important."

...

That look in her eyes. It was the same.

"Your family," I said. "They've done something to you."

Fierce Fox approached me, slowly.

"I can help you," I said, quietly. "It doesn't have to be like this. You're the hero of the prophecy, after all. The world needs you."

Fierce Fox simply stared at me, for a moment. She seemed suspicious, hesitant. It was almost like I was working with a dangerous animal. A lion that was contemplating whether or not to kill a gazelle.

"You're a hero," I repeated. "And someone once told me a hero needs companions. I'll be your companion. And there's so many others who'll help you as well." That made me think of my other friends: C.J, Thomas Edison, Mighty Penguin… I wondered how they were. I hoped they weren't insane or broken like Fierce Fox.

Then I remembered Bell and Quiet Sword. Were they okay, too?

"We can find them," I told Fierce Fox. "They'll help you."

Fierce Fox's expression darkened.

I sighed. "Well, I need to find them. You can come… if you want."

I turned away, holding out the mirror Aphrodite gave me. I glanced back one more time, but Fierce Fox was gone. I sighed. I hoped Bell and Quiet Sword would be able to help me. I really couldn't do this alone.

With that pleasant thought, I asked the mirror to show me the location of Quiet Sword and Bell. Light enveloped my vision.

"Guys!" I called out, once the light had cleared out of my eyes. I heard a voice yell back in response. It belonged to Bell, and Quiet Sword, who was following him.

"Alice!" Quiet Sword gave me a hug, while Bell awkwardly stood there. He offered me a half-smile, which I returned. I think we were almost starting to bond.

"There's… something I have to tell you," I said. Taking a deep breath, I explained who the true hero of the prophecy was. The boys stared at each other for a few moments.

"So you aren't actually the hero," Bell finally said. "Thought so. You're too wimpy for that."

"Hey," Quiet Sword glared at him. He looked back at me. "So… Fierce Fox… your friend… she's kinda crazy?"

"She wasn't always crazy," I said. "But she's always been stubborn."

"We can try talking to her," Quiet Sword said, with a smile. A half-hearted smile. Seems I wasn't the only nervous one.

"Or we can knock some sense into her." Bell muttered, cracking his knuckles.

Quiet Sword rolled his eyes. I just laughed.

"Trust me, Bell," I said. "She'll be the one knocking sense into you."

Bell crossed his arms. "I highly doubt it."

"I don't think you will when you meet her," I said. Bell and I stared at each other for a few moments, almost ferociously. Quiet Sword started laughing.

"What's so funny, punk boy?" Bell asked Quiet Sword, bitterly. Quiet Sword did look like a punk (the style, that is), wearing black bracelets with spikes, and a dog collar around his neck. He screamed 'edgy' when you first saw him, but ironically enough, he was one of the kinder people I'd met. Bell, on the other hand, looked like a goth, and acted like one… well, sort of. He was just a sarcastic goofball. I guessed most goths were like that, I didn't know many.

"You two," Quiet Sword sighed. "You're just great."

"I hope you don't think we're in love," I grumbled. I had only ever had minor crushes, and I never had the confidence to ask anyone out. I wasn't really sure what my sexuality was even meant to be. But I did know I didn't feel anything towards Bell.

"No, no," Quiet Sword waved his hands. "I mean, I like you." He went bright red. "I-I mean, not in that way! I just think you're good friends!"

"You totally love me, punk," Bell smirked. "Admit it."

"You're a friend!" Quiet Sword insisted, but he was still blushing.

"As cute as this all is, I think the world may or may not be at stake," I said. "And we have to talk to my other friend."

"Yeah," Quiet Sword hastily agreed. He seemed glad to change the topic. "Where is she?"

A figure emerged from the bushes. "Right here."

Fierce Fox stood there, her arms folded. Her messy hair blew back in the breeze. That look in her eyes was… more normal.

"You followed me after all?" I asked, with a small smile.

"Curiosity, and you were pretty easy to sneak up onto," Fierce Fox replied, with a familiar glimmer in her eyes that sent relief. "And besides, this idiot over here says he can 'knock some sense' into me." She glared at Bell. He returned her look.

"Show me then, girl," he said, incredulously.

And then they started arm wrestling. Guess what, Fierce Fox won. Quiet Sword and I started laughing.

"I was taking it easy on her," Bell groaned, massaging his bicep.

"Sure you were," I rolled my eyes. Fierce Fox was just smirking smugly.

Bell glared at us.

"I'm sure you guys will get on," I said. "After all, you both hate me, right?"

"You're a whiny brat," Fierce Fox told me. "But Bellie Boy over here is a sore loser."

"Am not!" Bell snapped. I couldn't help laughing at the nickname 'Bellie Boy'.

"Well, Bellie Boy, got any retaliations?" I asked Bell.

"Wait until I do your head in," Bell growled. "Then we'll see who's laughing!"

Fierce Fox rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure, Bellie Boy. By the way, you, with the green shirt and piercings? I like your fashion style."

"Thanks," Quiet Sword replied. "My dad had a band in high school. This shirt has his band's insignia on it. The whole band used to wear clothes like this."

"What was your dad's band called?" I asked.

"The Flying Four," Quiet Sword laughed. "That's why the insignia looks like a four with wings."

"That's actually really cool," I said. "Was his band a good band?"

"They had a few hits," Quiet Sword said, shrugging. "They were popular around the island, but never made it out to the rest of Poptropica."

"Shame," I shrugged. "I would've liked to hear their music."

"Dad still has his keyboard," Quiet Sword replied. "If you ever come to mine, he'll be happy to play a song for you."

I grinned. "Then maybe I will."

"That's a lovely story and all, but… why am I here again?" Fierce Fox interrupted us.

"Saving Poptropica," Bell said. "Obviously."

"The whole place is run by Zeus," Fierce Fox pointed out. "We don't really have a lot on 'im."

"But we need to take him down," I said. "I may not be the hero of the prophecy this time, but I have a gut feeling. That god's caused us a lot of trouble. Now he's causing everyone trouble."

"Fighting my crazy uncle?" Bell asked, shrugging as if it were just a simple trip to the grocery store, "Sure. I'm game."

"I'm more game," Fierce Fox growled, suddenly more competitive. "Count me in too."

"Me three," Quiet Sword said, holding up a hand. He turned to me. "Alice?"

I nodded. "Let's save Poptropica."


	19. The Search

"I think I know a few people who will definitely want to help us," I said. My friends and I were sitting nearby some dead trees. It was desolate and quiet, with only a few Zeus statues peering us down. A little too intimidating for my tastes, but that was Zeus for you, I suppose.

"Let me guess," Bell chimed in. "Hades and Poseidon."

"Yep," I nodded at him. "Though where they are is the main problem."

"Their realms?" Fierce Fox asked.

"Maybe not…" Quiet Sword added. "Zeus has taken over Poptropica. It's probably more likely than not that he's dethroned his brothers as well."

"Maybe we should ask the locals," I said. I frowned. "If there are any alive, that is."

We snooped around the island for a bit, trying our best not to be seen. We did actually manage to find a few locals, but none of them were very happy. In fact, they were all terrified. We asked them about the other gods.

"He locked them up," a terrified woman told us.

"You mean…" I said, frowning, and my friends shared nervous glances. "Where did he lock them up?"

"In his palace," the woman responded, shakily. "Where he locks all those that refuse to bow to him."

I remembered how scared Aphrodite had been when I talked to her. I shivered in realisation. It was so much worse than I thought.

"Where's his palace?" I asked.

"East," the woman said. Her eyes widened. "But I wouldn't go there. Zeus will kill you!"

"She has a point," Quiet Sword added in. "If you die, I can't reset time anymore. Even if I go to Super Power Island, it'll take a while. And… I don't think we can travel there in this state."

I scowled. "We don't have much of a choice."

"Yeah," Fierce Fox crossed her arms, smirking. "Besides, I wanna knock that guy's skull in."

"Pfft, not before I get there first." Bell stepped forward, boldly.

"Yeah, right." Fierce Fox rolled her eyes.

"You all are insane," the woman shook her head.

"Hey, woman, I'm Bellerophon," Bell stepped forward. "I'm a hero!"

"Zeus killed you, didn't he?" the woman asked.

Bell gritted his teeth. "Hey, I-"

"So the palace is to the east?" I interrupted him.

The woman nodded. "If you're that crazy…"

"We're more crazy." Fierce Fox said, grinning.

I sighed. "Let's go and save those gods."


	20. Sneaking in

Even though he was an evil psychotic genius, I had to admit Zeus had a nice place.

His palace was ginormous, even bigger than the Tree of Immortality. I knew that because I could see said tree in the distance. The palace was made of a shining white marble, and towered high into the clouds. There were a few windows on the outside, that shimmered in the pale light. Lightning seemed to be swirling all around it, making it stick out like a sore thumb compared to the dreariness of everything else.

"Show-off," Bell snorted. "Never liked my uncle."

"Your uncle?" I asked.

"Poseidon's my dad, remember?" Bell asked.

"So… we're going after your uncle?" I said.

"Don't worry," Bell sighed. "My family is really messed up."

"Same," Fierce Fox said. She smiled. "I suppose, we have that in common, too."

"I guess." Bell replied, looking away. But he had a small smile on his face.

"So, how are we getting in?" I asked.

"Through the door." Bell responded. I rolled my eyes.

"Let's bust in," Fierce Fox said, cracking her knuckles. "I'll knock some sense into Thunderpants."

"Um, I don't think that's such a good idea," Quiet Sword spoke up. "Zeus is very powerful at the moment. If we just bust in, he'll probably kill us on the spot."

"He has a point," I agreed. "We'll have to sneak in."

Both Fierce Fox and Bell looked annoyed about that. Naturally.

"How about this," Quiet Sword said, standing up. "We could… pretend to be servants. We'll sneak in, and figure out where Zeus is putting the other gods. Then, we'll free them, and voila, we get to have a big fight. How does that sound?"

Bell pouted. "I'm no servant."

Fierce Fox stood up. "Suit me up. I'll be the first one to kick that god's behind!"

Bell growled. "Oh, you are on."

Through some investigating, we found out the servants wore plain white togas. It wasn't too hard to find some, since residents had a few stashed around.

"This is all well and good, but I bet Zeus will recognise you if he sees you," Quiet Sword told me. "You'll need more of a disguise."

"I suppose I could just dye my hair, or…" I started, but Quiet Sword waved me off.

"Come with me." he said. I followed him to a little, private area full of dead trees, away from the others. I was a little concerned about leaving them alone, considering they fought every five seconds.

"They're just trying on togas," Quiet Sword said, as if he could read my mind. "They won't do anything more than a competition of who can put their toga on the fastest."

"They're crazy," I said. "Those two."

"They're passionate," Quiet Sword replied. "Confident. And maybe a little ruthless."

"'A little'? Understatement of the century." I said, rolling my eyes. "Fierce Fox can be really intense. And Bell…"

Quiet Sword just laughed. "Hey, I'm the one who has to deal with them for the prophecy."

"I'm here too, y'know." I rolled my eyes. Quiet Sword patted my shoulder.

"Of course, I'd never forget," he said, in a joking sympathy. "Now, let me turn you into a new Poptropican. Zeus won't recognise you at all." He sat behind me, and started plaiting my hair.

"I didn't know you knew how to plait…" I said.

"My mom's a hairdresser," Quiet Sword replied. "She's the reason I haven't cut my hair. She says my long hair is perfect the way it is."

"She's not wrong." I found myself saying. I almost blushed.

"Thanks," Quiet Sword laughed. "Good to know it's worth the tedious showers."

It was my turn to laugh. "Yeah, the showers aren't something I like about my hair. I'm thinking about cutting it again. Maybe Hades had a point after all."

"Just put your hair up," Quiet Sword told me. "You'll look fine." He tugged my hair a bit more, then made a sound of satisfaction. "Speaking of hair…"

He dug through his inventory, and pulled out a mirror. He gave it to me, and I gasped in surprise. My hair had been pulled back into braids, with a bun on the end. A fringe covered the side of my forehead. For once I looked… pretty. Especially with the toga, I really didn't look like myself.

"You're amazing," I said, breathless.

"Not done yet," Quiet Sword laughed. "One more touch." He pulled something out of his pocket. He put it in my hair. "There were go."

I looked in the mirror again. In my hair was a clip with Quiet Sword's father's band's insignia.

"Your dad's band has hair clips?" I asked, almost in disbelief.

"No," Quiet Sword laughed. "I just made this at school once. When I was bored."

"You're a time-traveller, a hairdresser, and an artist?" I asked, my eyes widening.

"I know I don't exactly look the part," Quiet Sword laughed. "But yeah. I also play piano."

"Of course you do," I rolled my eyes. "I wish I was that talented. I can't play any instruments. I'm not athletic. I'm not an artist, or a mathematician…" I paused. "Well… I know a bit about science. And I write, sometimes."

"And you seem to answer your own questions." Quiet Sword said.

"Yeah," I laughed. "That too."

Following my friend, we made our way back over to the crazy people. Somehow, they had managed not to kill each other. And they were both wearing togas as well.

"Haven't work one of these for ages," Bell remarked. "Not since I was last alive." He looked at me. "Whoa, who's this?"

"Alice." I replied, winking at Quiet Sword.

"Whoa," Fierce Fox raised her brow. "You look different."

"So do you." I retorted. She did, indeed. Her hair and intense eyes were the same, but her clothes were a different story. Now she looked like she had walked right of a Greek tragedy. That toga suited her, oddly.

Bellerophon, on the other hand, despite being a Greek hero, didn't look quite so good. His gothic, deathlike appearance didn't suit the fancy toga at all. It was like if a zombie showed up to a birthday party.

"Stop staring," Bell scoffed. "I look great."

"You look like that one guy who doesn't want to be at the party." Fierce Fox retorted. I snorted into my hand. Bell glared at me.

"Well, if we're done insulting each other," Quiet Sword folded his arms, but I could tell he was holding back giggles. "Are we ready to go?"

"Let's do this." Bell said.

Fierce Fox simply cracked her knuckles.

"Alice?" Quiet Sword turned to me.

"I'm ready." I said, clenching my fists.

"Then let's go in." Bell said.


	21. Forming a plan

Zeus has a nice palace on the inside as well, which honestly irritated me. Marble walls towered above me, almost arrogantly. Golden was plated on them here and there, and the shiny floor echoed every time I took a step.

Statues and tapestries of Zeus hung from the walls, pretty much everywhere. This guy really had the world's biggest ego.

As hilariously arrogant as he was, though, I still didn't want to run into him. He was scary, too.

We saw other servants milling around. We asked them about the other gods.

"The dungeons are East," one replied. "You will see the staircase. Should you not already know this?"

"We're new." I lied.

"I see," the servant replied, raising a brow. "Well, welcome. Though how welcome you are here is truly a question I cannot hope to answer."

Not very much, I thought.

"Thanks," I said, out-loud. I turned to my friends. "Come on. Let's go."

...

We followed the servant's directions, and indeed came to a creepy-looking staircase. It led down into a dark passageway that didn't look very friendly.

Fierce Fox cracked her knuckles. "Now this is what I'm in to."

I wasn't so in to it. Quiet Sword seemed to notice this, and squeezed my hand reassuringly. I smiled at him.

"Dear gods," Bell sighed. "Alright, lackeys. Let's do this."

"What'd you just call me?" Fierce Fox asked, glaring at him. Bell snorted at her, and began climbing down the stairs. Fierce Fox growled and went after him. Quiet Sword rolled his eyes at me.

"I'll never get sick of them," he admitted. "Well, I might at some point, but still."

I just laughed. Suddenly the tunnel didn't seem so bad anymore.

"Come on," I said. "We shouldn't leave them alone for too long."

Quiet Sword put his arms around my shoulder as we descended into the dark.

…

I shouldn't have been surprised that the dungeon wasn't a nice place. No. It was worse than what I was expecting.

It was far creepier than Pelican Rock, or even the prison on Ghost Story Island. This place was daunting. Various satyrs, nymphs and other creatures were locked up inside black cages with thick, metal bars. Of course, there were stupid tapestries with Zeus around as well, just because we hadn't seen enough of them already. They were really getting on my nerves. As we walked further, I saw Poptropicans in the cages as well, even some I recognised. My old friends. My heart pounded. I felt angry and sick at the same time. Zeus was going to get it for sure.

Fierce Fox had a dark look on her face. After all, they were her friends too. I so badly wanted to go over and release them, but I couldn't; I had to focus. I promised on myself to go back for them, though. I refused to let them suffer much longer. Especially when I thought I saw Mighty Penguin crying. My heart ached even more, and I held back my own tears. Surprisingly, Fierce Fox comforted me. She gave me a reassuring smile and a pat on the shoulder. It wasn't much, but I still appreciated it. Our friendship still existed despite everything. That, I admit, I found strength in.

"This way," Bell said. "I bet 100,000 drachmas Zeus threw his brothers in the deepest part of this stupid dungeon."

"Sounds like fun." I grunted sarcastically. We headed deeper into the dungeons. The walls echoed as we took a step. They were huge, long, and creepy; my body wanted to close in on itself. Did I mention I hate rooms like that? They make me feel really small and weak. Some people think they're grand. I'm not one of those people, I'm afraid. If I were dancing with the beast in that ballroom from Beauty and the Beast, I'm not sure what I would find more terrifying: the room or the beast himself.

Anyway, we kept descending. We saw a few gods and goddesses locked up in chains as well, including Athena. I felt sick. Zeus was locking up his own freaking children. Bell saw the look on my face.

"Trust me, Alice," he said. "There's a lot worse."

"That doesn't make me feel any better." I muttered.

"It's not meant to." Bell said, and for once, his tone wasn't vindictive or condescending. It was just sombre. The reminiscent of a hero who never got to shine. A hero that, in the end, fell to his own greed.

"You don't have to be a better hero than Hercules, you know," I told him. "You just need to be a better person."

Bell stared at me, his brow creased.

"Trust me," I said. "You're not a real hero if you're as arrogant as Zeus."

Bell didn't say anything as we kept going down. I bit my lip, rubbing my arms. This was not an easy journey. It never was. Ever since I first appeared, it was never going to be easy.

And life wasn't fair anyway. Never had been, never would be.

We finally reached the very bottom of the basement. Like Bell said, it was truly the worst of the worst. The thick gold cages were covered in massive locks, each decorated with lightning bolts. They seemed to be warding me off in some way, as I didn't feel like approaching them. My friends and I glanced at each other.

"Father?" Bell asked, glancing at the cages. "L-Lord Hades? Are you in there?" He suddenly didn't sound like the stuck up brat he usually was. He sounded like a young child who had lost their parents in the supermarket and couldn't find them anywhere. Quiet Sword was holding my hand again. I was feeling nervous, and not just from the prison...

"My boy," a voice from the cage said. I saw a guy with pale blue skin (that looked a little clammy, no pun intended) and a messy blue beard appear from the inside of the cage. He had wrinkles around his eyes, and his body was shivering, like he was in constant pain. He was nothing like the guy I'd seen on Mythology Island. Bell seemed to be staring at him with awe, though. I think he was actually speechless.

"Poseidon." I said, Fierce Fox and Quiet Sword standing beside me.

"Alice Manchester," the god said. "So, you really have returned."

"I'm not from this timeline," I said. "The Alice from here is dead. I'm here to fix her mistakes."

"Wise as ever," another voice said. I recognised it almost immediately.

"Hades." I said. He honestly didn't look too different, aside from being the size of a normal human. And not wearing his crown, or anything.

"So we meet again," he sighed. He glanced over Bellerophon. "I hope you have been helping her and not… slacking off."

"No, lord," Bell said, quickly. I glanced at him. We shared a glare of mutual hate… and respect. After all, Bell had been working under Hades. And I was pretty sure gods had high standards.

"Anyway," Fierce Fox cleared her throat. "How are we going to free these guys? Don't think we can break through those defences…" She pointed at the locks.

"Our lovely brother would not leave the keys in a location with easy access," Hades said. "And, knowing him, there will be more than one key, and perhaps many incarnations before you can even begin to open the cage."

"Great," I sighed. "He doesn't like to make things easy."

"Of course not," Bell rolled his eyes. "We'll need another way to open this." He turned to Quiet Sword. "Got any ideas, Quiet Sword?"

Quiet Sword just shrugged.

"Dad?" Bell turned to his father. Poseidon looked thoughtful. He cleared his throat.

"Brother," he said. "Is that other human, Louisa, I believe, still alive?"

"That she is." Hades replied.

"Hmm," Poseidon mused. "The power of two humans from another universe will be vastly greater than one. If you can find that Louisa, and return here, we can unite her and Alice's power. And, perhaps, it might just be enough to break through the power of these cages."

"Does that mean I have to die?" I asked, shivering.

"Ideally not," Poseidon answered. "Your power can be used against Zeus, as well."

"Brother, they will be weakened," Hades spoke up. "They will be no condition to fight." He turned to me. "Our brother has our symbols of power, and uses them to his own advantage. If you can take them from him and deliver them to us, we will gain a lot of our power back."

"Don't you… already have power?" I asked.

"Yes," the god answered, "but Zeus has a lot more. He has the sacred objects. He has your human energy. Our symbols of power. Even together, Poseidon and I cannot take him down right now. With the help of our symbols of power, you and that other human, and potentially an army, we may stand a chance."

"As if they can sprout an army out of nowhere, Hades." Poseidon rolled his eyes.

"Your plan was no better."

"I'd say not. Yours was worse."

"Mine was very well thought-out. My plans have always been better. This is why-"

"Hey!" Fierce Fox interrupted the brothers. "You can fight some other time. We have a world to save at the moment."

"And there is somewhere we can get an army," I added in. "There are tons of other prisoners here I bet would be willing to help, including gods."

"So, if we get them out…"Quiet Sword nodded. "Yeah! This may work!"

"All we need to do now," I said. "Is find Louisa and the symbols of power for these two." I gestured at the gods.

"Be wary, young heroes," Poseidon said. "Zeus is paranoid. He will be keeping an eye out everywhere."

"I kind of guessed," I sighed. "I mean, he has tapestries and stuff everywhere."

"I will personally be burning some of those tapestries when I escape," Hades muttered. "Right in front of him."

"I'll join you." Fierce Fox said, folding her arms.

"Count me in, too." Bell said.

"Why not? I shall help, too." Poseidon chuckled. Ah, yes. Burning tapestries. The pinnacle of comedy.

"Wonderful that we can finally bond over our mutual hate." Hades sighed.

"If we win against Zeus…" I said. "Who will rule over Mythology Island?"

"I will." Hades and Poseidon said simultaneously. They glared at each other.

I glanced at my friends. "Let's get out of here," I muttered, "before they start arguing."

And we snuck out, quietly discussing our plans on the way out. It was decided what we were going to do. Fierce Fox and Bell would be going after the weapons (because for some reason, they wanted to work together, probably to thrash each other), while Quiet Sword and I would find Louisa.

I sucked in my breath through my teeth.

Life was never fair. Never was, never would be.


	22. The plan commences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Updates may be slow for this story. I'm currently working on 3 others, one of which I just posted. Thanks for your patience.

"So, where was Louisa last?" Quiet Sword asked.

"Somewhere on this island," I said. "I saw her before I passed out and woke up in a cavern."

"How did you get in a cavern…?" Quiet Sword asked.

I shrugged. "Poptropica is weird, sometimes."

"I'm sure your world is weird, too." Quiet Sword said, tilting his head.

"It can be," I admitted. "I suppose, all worlds are weird, in their own way."

Quiet Sword nodded. "That's true."

We explored more of Mythology Island, which was still mostly ruins. It really made my heart ache.

"I used to love this island," I told my friend. "It was my favourite."

"We can bring it back," Quiet Sword said, with a gentle smile. "Once we free the gods…"

"I hope," I sighed. "I mean, Aphrodite told me a lot of the gods don't like Zeus so… maybe we have a chance."

"Yeah," Quiet Sword nodded. "Just stay positive, okay?"

Although, that was hard when everything around you was burning. It was like seeing an old friend of mine being tortured. My heart clenched further. I was pretty sure I was going to be sick. Or cry.

"Come on," I said. "I can't stand much more of this."

We kept looking around the island. No Louisa. Just more ruins.

"So," I said. "You can't use your powers anymore…?"

"Not on this island," Quiet Sword admitted. "We're stuck in this timeline now. My powers aren't unlimited."

"So I can't go back home to my original timeline?" I asked.

"Maybe you will, eventually," Quiet Sword said. "I think we need to complete the prophecy first."

"Then… I can go home?" I asked.

Quiet Sword nodded. "Hopefully."

"Hey, that reminds me…" I stared at him. "In my original timeline, Hades was the one that sent me to meet you. Do you know him?"

"I think all the gods knew about me," Quiet Sword shrugged. "I'm not sure. But I… I was sort of friends with Bellerophon before all this. We first met on Super Villain Island, while I was doing my job. We hung out almost every day. Then... I remember he disappeared for a while, but came back one day and said he wanted me to use his powers on you. I listened, and changed the timeline. Then we went back in time…"

"You should be careful with those powers, you know," I said. "The bad guys could find you very useful."

"Oh, I know," Quiet Sword said, his tone oddly dark. "I know very well."

I decided not to ask anymore questions. The topic seemed uncomfortable.

"Louisa!" I cried out, as we approached a sandy, yet desolate, beach. "Louisa?"

I felt bad for Louisa, too. In this timeline, she was stuck in Poptropica, with no way to get back. She had probably witnessed me die. Now she blamed the destruction of Poptropica on me. And in a way, I understood. I never wanted her or me or anyone to die. I just wanted to save her. But it seemed no matter what there was no happy ending for her.

I had failed Louisa. Now I had to try to make it up to her.

"Is that her?" Quiet Sword asked. He was pointing at a girl sitting up against a tree. Dirty brown hair, cracked glasses, torn clothes. She looked tired and defeated.

"That's her," I said, glumly. I cleared my throat. "Louisa!"

Louisa turned and stared at me. A hollowness was in her pale blue eyes.

"You need to stop," she sighed. "Alice, it's over."

"Louisa…" I felt my voice shake. "It doesn't have to be over. I know a way we can overthrow Zeus."

"You were never this hopeful before," Louisa sighed. "What changed you?"

"Going out and trying," I said. "Even if you die, you can die knowing you tried."

Louisa rolled her eyes at me. "Stop being so cheesy."

"It's true," Quiet Sword jumped in. "Um, Louisa, the truth is-"

We were interrupted by a crack of thunder. Lightning filled the sky. I shot Quiet Sword a wary look.

"What?" Louisa asked, drily. "It's just another one of Zeus' temper tantrums."

"No, no, it's not," I shook my head. I explained the entire plan to Louisa. She just stared at me like I had grown another head.

"You're insane," she shook her head. "He'll kill you."

"Not if you help us." I said, holding out my hand. "With your power and mine, Louisa, we can overthrow him. We can save the world."

Louisa still looked hesitant.

"You're our only hope!" Quiet Sword added in. "Everyone will be grateful to you. Trust me."

"You think I want fame?" Louisa asked, narrowing her eyes.

"No," I said. "But there is something I bet you want." I smiled. "Another chance."

THIRD PERSON

Fierce Fox hated looking like a servant. Bellerophon seemed to suit it much better than she did. Then again, he was born and bred on this island. It was his culture. Yet, most of the time he looked more like a goth punk. Fierce Fox really didn't understand that guy.

Plus, he was an arrogant idiot.

He was storming ahead of her, his held up high as usual. Fierce Fox scowled. Well, he wasn't as arrogant as Hercules. Then again, he also wasn't as powerful.

"Now," Bell said. "My uncle is paranoid, but also very vain. All the brothers are, actually. Screw it, all the gods are."

"So are you." Fierce Fox grunted.

Bell glared at her. "And so are you."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"ARE TO-"

"What are you two doing?" a voice boomed. It belonged to an important-looking man in a toga.

"Nothing." Bell said, and quickly dragged Fierce Fox away. Once they got to an area with a little more privacy, they began to discuss the plan again.

"So, my uncle is arrogant," Bell said. "We need to trick him somehow. That's usually the only way to get around him."

"And how do we do that? Gods themselves are tricky." Fierce Fox replied, thinking of past experiences with the god.

"Yep," Bell said. He looked thoughtful. "Hmm… how about a distraction?"

Zeus was very proud of himself. Well, no. That was an understatement. He was victorious. He had finally managed to overthrow his pathetic brothers, and was now the king of all realms. Nothing would ever bother him again. His power was unbeatable. He was unstoppable. Not one could stand in his-

BOOM!

Zeus perked up. What in his name? He realised the wall had exploded open. Standing there was a girl with long, flowing red hair. She was covered in gold, and was wielding a glowing lightning staff. She was so bright she reminded Zeus of Apollo. The god had to shield his eyes.

"You dare enter my throne room uninvited, mortal?" he boomed, peeking through his fingers.

The mortal girl began dancing around, shining golden light all over the throne room. Zeus clenched his teeth. He was going to go blind from this!

"You had better leave, mortal," he growled, "before I smite you!"

The girl kicked over a statue of him. Zeus stood up, angrily.

"That's it," he growled. "You die…" He realised his brothers' weapons were gone. "What…?" And the girl was gone too. Zeus let out a roar of fury that shook the entire cosmos.

Foolish mortals.


	23. Freeing the gods

**ALICE**

Louisa followed us back to the palace. Even she was in awe when she stared at it, but this went away quickly and was replaced by fear. I couldn't blame her, really. I felt the same.

Lightning danced through dark clouds and rain was pouring down in buckets. This meant a certain god was in a bad mood. I could see why when I saw Fierce Fox and Bell running out, carrying a familiar trident and crown.

"Shocker," I muttered. "They're working together."

Quiet Sword rolled his eyes, while Louisa just looked confused.

"Shut up," Fierce Fox growled, storming over to me. "We almost died."

"Although, I did most of the work." Bell said.

"You wouldn't have been able to do anything without me." Fierce Fox snapped.

"Guys, come on," I interrupted their banter. "We have better things to do. Also," I gestured to Louisa. "In case you didn't know, this is Louisa Van Tullekan. She's going to be helping us."

Louisa nodded. "Hey there."

"Nice to meet you when you're not crazy." Bell said, holding out his hand.

"What a wonderful thing to say to another person," I deadpanned. "I'm sure she really appreciates that."

"Hey," Bell glared at me. "I'm half-god. Give me some respect."

"You're only  _half_ -god, so you only deserve half my respect, then," I said, "which is none."

"Now that's just racist." Fierce Fox commented.

"I thought we were supposed to be… not bantering?" Quiet Sword asked.

"I don't think we have our priorities straight," I sighed. "But true. We really should be freeing the gods."

* * *

We headed back into Zeus' stupid lavish palace, which bright glow was reflecting off my face. We gave Louisa a toga to wear, so she fit in with the rest of us. Then we returned to the dungeons, which I really didn't want to go to. Once again, we passed the massive amounts of people, and my heart ached.

And then we reached the bottom, where Hades and Poseidon were waiting.

"Well," Poseidon said, "you succeeded, mortals. Well done."

"I don't find that surprising," Hades said. "Perhaps that is a good thing. You succeed so often you surpass the expectations of a god."

I decided to take that as a compliment. Gods didn't exactly tell you how awesome you were all the time.

We gave the gods their items. Then Louisa and myself stood in front of their cages. Bell was staring at his father, with a sort of detached longing. Fierce Fox had her head tilted, and Quiet Sword looked nervous.

The gods stared at us. A little intimidating, but this time, I wouldn't let the feeling get to my head. I clenched my fists, and held out my hand. Louisa copied me. I felt my energy being drained away, and my entire world slow down. I slumped to my knees, my breathing slow, and heavy. My eyelids droopy. Louisa looked similar.

"Mortals," Poseidon said, "I recommended you take your human friends here and stand right back. This may, cause, ah, a bit of an explosion."

I felt myself being dragged away. I couldn't see much, only the faint outlines of my friends and the cages. I laid down, feeling half-dead.

Then I heard a massive explosion. Power thrummed through the air. I heard someone gasp.

"Father," someone said, probably Bell.

"It will not be long before our dearest younger brother notices us," someone said. "We should-"

Then there was another explosion. As if I wasn't sick enough already.

"You fools," a voice boomed. "You have just declared war!"

I knew who it was.

Zeus.


	24. War

I heard a lot of explosions. Cages were opening; gods, monsters, humans were all breaking free. The ground was shaking from all the impact.

"Alice!" someone called my name. I recognised that voice. It brought a sense of warmth.

"Mighty… Penguin?" I asked, faintly looking up. He looked different. His dark skin was covered in scratches and cuts, and he was a lot skinner. But he still had a nice smile on his face, and a friendly look in his eyes.

"I… I thought you were dead," he said, stammering.

"So did I," another voice said. I faced it, and my jaw went slack. There was a whole army there. Thomas Edison, C.J… all the friends I hadn't seen for ages. I wanted to get up and hug them, but my body felt like wet cement. Louisa looked like she had a similar predicament.

Quiet Sword sat next to me. He helped me stand up, and swung my arm over his shoulder. Behind him I could see lightning, and a huge tsunami wave. Fierce Fox was there too; I could see her long, red hair and burning yellow eyes. Pride burned inside me.

"We're doing it," I said. "We're really doing it."

"Yep," Quiet Sword smiled at me. "You're a hero."

I blushed. Then a thought crossed my mind.

"Louisa…" I said, looking around. "Will she be okay?"

"She'll be fine," Quiet Sword said. "But you're pretty vulnerable now. I'm gonna get you out of here."

"Look out!" I heard Bell yell. A lightning bolt narrowly missed us.

"Foolish mortals," Zeus boomed. "You will never escape me!"

I gritted my teeth as explosions made my eardrums want to burst.

"Go kill someone your own speed!" Quiet Sword yelled at the god. That was the meanest thing I'd ever heard him say. Zeus yelled a bunch of curse words, and threw lightning bolts at us. A wall of what looked like dark rock appeared before us, protecting us.

"You are no different from our father, brother," Hades said, an enraged look on his face. Zeus roared in rage, thunder booming. The gods and mortals on his side wielded weapons, and charged towards us. The ones on our side charged as well. I clenched my fists.

"Fools," Zeus growled, his voice echoing. "You will all burn!" He turned to Quiet Sword. "I know who you are, mortal. You think only Hades knows about your powers? It is all your fault. You are the one that brought this… version of her here," he pointed to me. "You ruined everything!"

Quiet Sword kept a firm look on his face, but I could see his arms were shaking.

"Uncle, don't blame him," Bell stepped forward. "Blame me. I told him to do it."

Zeus narrowed his eyes. "I remember you. Poseidon's son. You tried to fly up to Olympus on Pegasus, didn't you?"

Bell tensed up. "I'm better than that now. I'm here to retake my place as a hero."

"You should not have crossed me the first time," Zeus thundered. "And now, you make that mistake again?"

"He's a better person than you'll ever be." I spat.

The god glared at me. "You have gotten a lot more nerve, brat. It will be fun to kill you again."

And then, before anyone could move, he threw a lightning bolt at me. And everything went black.

* * *

I was lying on the ground, feeling broken, empty, sore. Was I truly dead this time? Fire was all around me, plants were burning, statues were in pieces, my lungs were full of smoke...

"You are stronger than I thought," a voice said. "I hate you stubborn mortals."

Zeus was standing there, holding his lightning bolt to my face. Something I definitely wanted to wake up to. Not.

I began sweating, and crawled back.

"No one to help you now, Alice Kate Manchester," Zeus said, some kind dark insanity glittering in his eyes. "Your friends are gone. You had no chance against me."

Anxiety churned inside me. I sat up. "Not true… my friends are stronger than you imagine."

"You think just because you have my pathetic brothers on your side you can defeat me?" the god roared. "I am the most powerful being in all of Poptropica! The other gods are nothing compared to me!"

"Even your own kids?" I asked. "You're a terrible father."

Zeus held up his lightning bolt with a scowl, about to bring it down, when someone interrupted him.

"Get away from her."

Fierce Fox was there, a harsh glare on her face.

"Ah, the brat's longtime accomplice," Zeus said. "You are also a pain."

"You're not going to kill anyone ever again," Fierce Fox said, holding out her lightning staff. She looked at me, and tilted her head urgently. It was obvious:  _get out of here!_  I hesitantly stood up, though my whole body ached. At least I wasn't back on Earth. If I was, I'd probably be dead for real.

Earth… would I ever get to go home again?

"You cannot tell me what to do." Zeus glared at Fierce Fox. I continued walking away, disappearing into the trees. I ran and ran, until I thought my feet were going to bleed. Eventually, I tripped over a bush, landing on my front. A shadow was covering my face, so I looked up.

Someone was waiting there for me.

"Athena?" I asked.

The goddess nodded. "My father has gone mad with power, child. I… I want to convince him otherwise, but it seems that will not work. The only way is to dethrone him. But his power is too strong."

"Then what do we do?" I asked.

"I am afraid you will not like this option, but it is the only way." Athena said.

I had a bad feeling.

The goddess sighed deeply. "Either you or Louisa must die."


	25. Confidence

I felt pretty useless and empty. All of this to save Louisa… was for nothing.

We'd come back in time to fix the future, and I thought we'd get a better ending. But I was wrong. I couldn't escape death. Louisa couldn't, either. Was that all prophecies were?

Long-gone vengeance…

Who was the real vengeance here? Was it Zeus? Or was it history repeating itself?

…

I felt anger. It was bitter and harsh, but filled me with a passion I didn't have before.

"No," I said, clenching my fists. "History isn't going to repeat itself."

Athena raised her brow. "Child-"

"I'm going to take him down, and I'm going to live," I said.

"You cannot be serious," the goddess said. "He will kill you in an instant."

"No he won't," I said. For once, I felt confidence rush through me. I held my head high, pushing my hair back. "Not this time."

Athena shook her head. "Human, mortal-"

I turned away. "I did it once. I can do it again. I can save the world."

And then I ran, determined to find the king of Gods. He was going down.

Running with a half-broken leg isn't a good idea, but because I was feeling crazy, I was doing it anyway. Even if my head was aching and my heart felt like it was going to explode from pressure.

Usually I've been able to tell where I was going, but that's only because I had knowledge beforehand. I was definitely not clairvoyant, so I was just running on pure instinct. I couldn't exactly remember where the douchebag king of gods' castle was, but I'd find it. I was fuelled with rage that was unfamiliar, but strong. I was confident, for once. Truly confident.

After all, I'd always seen myself as pathetic. And still did. Sometimes, you can't escape the past, but you can learn to live with it. This time, I didn't just need to live with the past, but I needed to live with the present and future, as well.

Ignoring the pain all around my body, I kept moving forward, my head high. I grabbed the medallion in my hand. A memory from the first time I'd beat Zeus. I'd do it again. And again, if I had to. As many times as I could.

Was I crazy? Maybe. Maybe I'd die, but if I died, then I'd die saving the world.

I found the palace. It was a mess, and the sky was full of dark, intimidating clouds. A nice, poetic representation of my anger. I could see people running around in fear, and some fighting. I clenched my fists.

"Alice…" a voice said behind me. Fierce Fox. "Wow… you look different."

I turned around and faced her. I grabbed my cheek; I felt scars and bruises.

"I'm going to take down Zeus." I told her.

Fierce Fox widened her eyes. "You really have changed."

"No," I said. "I just want this to end." Because, deep down, I was still scared. But for once, I wasn't making being scared my top priority. After all, people who are brave, deep down, are terrified. They just have their priorities right. And for once, that was me. I was the hero they wanted to be. The brave, strong, fearless hero.

"You're nothing like the girl I met two years ago," Fierce Fox said. "You're… braver now."

I nodded. Then I threw my arms around Fierce Fox. It felt good to hug her again, since I hadn't done it in such a long time. Fierce Fox hugged me back. She just smelled like burning leather. Not really a nice smell, but it was something I associated with her.

"Thanks," I said. "And you, you're always brave."

"We're braver together," Fierce Fox said, squeezing my shoulder. "I was always such a douche to you. But… I guess, you're not so bad. And I'm glad you were there."

I nodded, head in her shoulder, suddenly getting the urge to cry. Fierce Fox was rarely ever this nice. It made me think of my mom. Oh God, she'd be worried sick. And so would Marcus and Chrissi. I felt so stupid. I wish I could've said a proper goodbye to them, too…

"I'm coming with you," Fierce Fox said. "We'll save the world. Together."

I nodded. "We will." My throat choked up.

Then, arm-in-arm, Poptropican and player, we went to fight the God of the skies.


	26. The Final Battle part. 1

It gets hard when push comes to shove. It has always been hard for me. But I was done being a pushover. I was done being scared. I was done with it all.

I stormed right into the palace, my head high. I was proud. I was actually  _proud_. It was so unfamiliar, but it felt so  _real_. Fierce Fox was behind me, and my other friends were in the distance. There was fighting all around us.

A warzone.

There was a flash of lightning, and thunder made the ground shake. I wrapped my arms around my body, my hair flying around my face. Cold wind and icy raindrops slapped my skin. I closed my eyes as the god appeared.

"You are very foolish, even for a mortal," he boomed. "And annoyingly tough." He held out his bolt. "I will destroy you once again!"

He threw the weapon at me; I narrowly jumped out of the way. The weapon collided with the floor, causing a huge explosion. Bits of debris and dust covered my back. I stood up, wiping it off. Before me was now a large crater.

"I'm not a fool anymore," I said, my voice sturdy. It almost didn't sound like me. "I'm stronger now. Stronger… stronger than you know."

Zeus just cackled darkly, summoning balls of pure electricity. They flowed around his body. He was about to launch them at me, but was interrupted by a tidal wave. The tidal wave smashed through the wall, landing on the god.

Poseidon was standing there, wielding his trident. He nodded at me, then disappeared into a pile of mist. I stepped back, next to Fierce Fox. She was fighting a creature made out of clouds. I saw Bellerophon riding a… pegasus? He was wearing armour and wielding a sword, charging at some monsters. He looked very heroic, even with his sunken eyes. Quiet Sword was wielding a sword that was definitely quiet and deadly. He slammed it into enemies, taking them apart.

Mighty Penguin was there, with a large pole. He whacked it into a servant, sending him flying. C.J was shrinking down enemies with her shrink ray and putting them in jars. Sprocket was shooting enemies with a laser beam. Little Carlos, who I hadn't seen for so long, was punching people with his pulverizes. Thomas Edison was whacking villains with… a piece of wood? I really have no idea.

Then, the roof suddenly smashed open, and Amelia flew in on a plane! It was so good to see her I started smiling and laughing. That's how I mad I was going.

"Alice!" Amelia yelled. "You're alive! Awesome to see!"

"Nice to see you too," I replied. "You're doing great!"

"YEAH, PROPHESIED HERO!" Carlos shouted. "I KNEW YOU WOULDN'T DIE!"

"You go, Alice!" C.J called out. Mighty Penguin gave me a thumbs up.

"I have no idea what's going on, but I'll try my best to figure out!" Thomas Edison cried.

I saw Louisa, too. She was looking nervous, holding out a dagger.

"Louisa," I said, heading over to her. She looked at me, raising her brow.

"Athena said one of us needs to die to defeat Zeus," I said. "But I don't want to have anyone die this time."

Louisa's brow creased. "You can't save everyone, Alice. That's part of being a hero."

"Not this time," I said, gripping her hand. "I'm changing history."

"Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Louisa said.

"I've learned from history," I snapped, getting frustrated. Usually I wasn't so impatient, but today was different. I wasn't waiting anymore.

"Have you?" Louisa asked, tilting her head.

"Louisa, come on," I said. "We have to work together on this."

"Working with you never turns out well," Louisa said, drily.

I frowned. "Lou…" I was about to say more, but I was interrupted by a lightning bolt narrowly missed my ear. I felt the heat of it on my back.

"You really need to watch out." a voice said. It was Bell, sitting on a great, white pegasus. Nothing like the ones from MLP.

"You didn't tell me you were an equestrian." I said.

"I rode a pegasus up to Olympus when I died," Bell grunted. "You didn't know that?"

"You never told me." I replied. Bell face-palmed.

"Who are you again?" Louisa asked, staring at Bell with confusion.

"I am Bellerophon, a hero of the gods," Bell said, sounding arrogant. "Alice can be stupid sometimes, but I recommend you hear her out."

"That's oddly nice of you…" I muttered.

"The only nice thing I'll ever say to you," Bell said, tilting his head. "See you, idiots!" His pegasus opened its wings, and he took off with a majestic swoop. He did look cool, I suppose, but I just shook my head. He was hard to take seriously.

"Right…" Louisa said. "Anyway. I don't want to work with you."

"Would you rather die?" I asked.

"Would you?" Louisa retorted.

"Louisa, please," I was about to get on my knees at this point. "Just help me. I swear on my life, I'll take you back home. You can see Chrissi again. Your family. Whoever."

Louisa's expression softened behind her glasses.

"Really…?" she asked. She looked away, a faint blush on her face. "Like… like I believe that, Alice."

"You should believe it," I said. "I can make it happen. Just help me."

Louisa frowned. "Fine. I'll help you. You'll probably just keep nagging me if I don't anyway."

I smiled. "Then let's do this."

* * *

**Third Person**

Zeus was confident in his abilities. It didn't matter how many mortals opposed him. He could defeat them all.

Even when his brothers were around, he would always be king.

Yet that girl, that mortal girl, the thorn his side, she was back. And she was stronger, more determined.

Zeus smirked darkly. It would hurt her more when he pushed her off her pedestal.

Then he saw her with the other mortal, Louisa. The prophesied hero who had turned him down. A traitor.

They were standing together, great power flowing around them. Zeus held up his bolt.

It was time to end this.


	27. The Final Battle, part 2

The world exploded.

I yelled out as I crashed into the wall. Fierce Fox was behind me, breathing heavily. I stood up, shaking loose pieces of debris out of my hair.

"You can never defeat me, mortals," the god boomed. "You will only perish."

Of course, we didn't listen. There was no going back. Louisa had her arms folded, a harsh look on her face.

"If this means I get to home, then I'll fight." she said.

"Alice!" Quiet Sword said, running to the space beside me. Bellerophon was behind him, still on a pegasus. It opened its wings, as Bellerophon looked down at me.

"You thought you could do this by yourself?" he asked. He shook his head. "If you did, you'd already be dead."

"Five of us," I said. I turned back to the god. "Enough for you?"

"Enough?" the god broke into laughter. "I could easily destroy all of you!"

"So why haven't you?" Bell asked, mockingly. Zeus' eyes blazed with fury, and even Bell looked nervous. I held out my fists, as the god summoned a huge bolt of lightning…

… but was distracted by some lipstick hitting him in the face.

"You're not the one to destroy potential couples," a voice said. "I am!"

A beautiful woman wearing… pink battle armour appeared. Roses covered her hair, and she was surrounded by a pink glow.

"Aphrodite!" I cried out. The goddess nodded to me.

"He will come to, soon," she told me. "Be ready!"

"What did she mean by… 'potential couples'?" Quiet Sword whispered.

"No idea," I said. "Probably Bellerophon x a mirror."

"I heard that!" Bell snapped. Fierce Fox started laughing.

"Guys, he's getting up!" Louisa snapped.

Indeed, the king of the gods was. He looked even more angry than before.

"No more games," he boomed. "I will-"

He was interrupted by a cry of rage, and the earth shaking. I heard many voices from different angles. People started appearing, some familiar, some not. All different types, as well. Gods, Poptropicans, elves, rabbits…

"What is this?" Zeus asked. "What is going on?"

"We're sick of you!" a voice yelled. It was… Dr. Hare? "How am I supposed to utilise any of my evil plans if you're in the way?"

I realised there were tons of villains there. My heart was pounding. What were they all doing here? They all looked furious. But their fury wasn't directed at me, for once. It was at Zeus. And there weren't just villains. There were heroes. Friends. Enemies. Everyone was all here, together, united.

"Aye!" Captain Crawfish agreed. "Ye be in me way!"

"You destroyed all my paintings!" Black Widow roared. "All of them!"

"And you trapped me!" Binary Bard yelled. Behind him, I saw Merlin the robotic owl, and a lot of other robots.

"What's going on?" I asked. "Why… why are you all here?"

"Heroes are not the only ones who are sick of the tyrannical rule of my father," a different voice said.

"Athena…" I looked up at the goddess.

"With all us united, we can defeat him," she said. "Perhaps, even without a death."

"There will always be a death," Hades said, appearing nearby me. "I hope it is the death of my brother's pride."

"Quite so." Poseidon said, holding out his trident.

I looked around. Gods I didn't recognise were there too. I even saw the Elf Queen, and an army of creatures from the woods. Dr. Dan and the monsters from Monster Carnival were there. Sasha, from Arabian Nights, and her father, stood there defiantly. C.J and Mighty Penguin stood by my side. Bellerophon and Quiet Sword were there, too. Louisa looked up, determination in her eyes. She didn't look hollow anymore. And of course, Fierce Fox had a hand on my shoulder. Together until the end.

"Maybe you can take on 5 people, Zeus," I said. "But how about all of us?"

Zeus looked at all of us: his brothers, other gods, and the many, many mortals. Something told me while he was arrogant, he wasn't stupid, and he knew he didn't have much of a chance.

The god bowed. "Very well. I surrender!"

There was a silence. No one really had anything to say. It seems like they all were expecting a battle.

"Well," Poseidon cleared his throat. "We saved a lot of time." He pointed at his trident at Zeus, Hades standing beside him. They both looked smug, but were hiding it behind a mask of authority. "Time for you to go, brother. I hope you like incarceration."

"I understand," Zeus nodded glumly. "But… may I say one more thing?"

The other two brothers glanced at each other. Everyone was waiting in anticipation.

"Very well," Poseidon said. "But do not try anything."

Zeus looked at me. "You are not the hero of the prophecy. You aren't one of the three."

I didn't reply. I really didn't know how to reply to that.

"Yet, you still acted like a hero," Zeus said. "Despite not being a part of the prophecy. You never needed to."

I was still silent.

"A line in the prophecy said 'every world is doomed'," the god said. "In a way, that line has a double meaning, Alice Manchester. You'll understand it very soon."

"What… what do you mean?" I asked.

"You are the one the prophecy refers to," Zeus said. "You are the worlds that are doomed. And I do not mean that you'll be killed. I mean everything you worked for…" His smile was sinister. "... will be crushed."

"What…?" I asked.

"I think he is saying too much," Hades said. "Brother-"

But it was too late. A lightning bolt crashed through the ceiling.

It hit Fierce Fox. She yelled out in pain.

...

And then she was dead.


	28. Return

I should've been happy. We won.

But was it really a victory without her?

I didn't want to believe it. My brain refused to accept it, to acknowledge that she was gone. It was like my dad had died all over again. But it was her, this time. My friend, my Poptropican… she was all gone.

I didn't even go to her funeral. I couldn't. I just couldn't bring myself to.

Hades and Poseidon were still 'figuring out' who was going to rule Poptropica (more like arguing and causing natural disasters because of it), while the other gods were helping the mortals clean everything up. Quiet Sword and Bellerophon were both made knights. Quiet Sword was so happy he started crying, while Bellerophon had an 'about time' attitude.

Fierce Fox's funeral, from what I'd heard, was extravagant. A statue of her was made to honour her life, and a shroud was burned. So rested the third knight, maybe the bravest of all.

And what happened to me?

The gods made me something similar to a royal advisor. They called me a 'mortal advisor'. Some of them wanted to make me immortal, others a god. I didn't want any of that. I just wanted Fierce Fox back.

I didn't want to live forever with the pain of a lost one on my shoulders.

I was staying in the palace right now. A lot of the Zeus merch had been removed, thank the gods. Once it had, I could appreciate the palace a lot more. My room was pretty, with marble walls, a large, comfy bed (and I mean insanely comfy, the most comfy bed I'd ever laid on), closets full of togas, and windows, were birds would perch and chirp at me.

I stared at the ceiling, laying on my bed. I hadn't left the room much, so I'd gotten pretty used to it. It had been two months. I reflected on everything that happened. When did it all change? I lived in a timeline where everyone knew me, then it all got erased, and I was a stranger. Then we went back in time to stop Louisa from meeting Zeus and…

Fierce Fox was dead.

Killed by him. I clenched my fists. Why couldn't I just get my perfect, happy ending for once? Was that so much to ask for?

Zeus was right. I'd be in constant despair, forever.

A knock on the door disturbed me before tears fell. I sighed heavily, and went to answer it. Standing there was my friend, Quiet Sword. He looked as he normally did, except he was wearing bronze shoulder pads. He had a bit of stubble on his chin, and his hair had a streak of green. He held out a sandwich on a plate.

"Hey," he said. He lifted the plate. "Want to… um, go and get some… lunch?"

"Not really." I replied. I wondered how I looked. Probably terrible, since I'd been doing a lot of moping.

"You sure?" Quiet Sword asked. "Herc's has some amazing chicken nuggets. And their pomegranate juice is the best."

"I'm fine," I said. "Really."

I wasn't fine.

"Well, okay…" Quiet Sword said. "It's just… I haven't seen you much. You've been locked away, like, a lot."

I stared at my shoes, embarrassed.

"Yeah…" I said, nervously, lacing my fingers together.

"I know what happened with… her really upset you, but you can't stay in here forever," Quiet Sword said. "I'm pretty sure she wouldn't want that."

I frowned. I stared into his brown eyes. He was a little bit taller than me, but he was no giant. He still had piercings. And a kind heart.

And powers to change the timeline.

"You know what, you're right," I said. "Let's go out for lunch."

Quiet Sword smiled. "I knew you'd come around!"

"Yeah," I said. "Sure."

…

Herc's Hero Hut did have pretty good chicken nuggets. And pomegranate juice.

It was nice to be out, while the sun was shining. There'd probably be an earthquake sooner or later, but that didn't mean we couldn't enjoy the weather. We sat outside, watching everything go by. People walking and talking, building, or having lunch, like us. It felt weird being out here, since it had been ages. I'd been a hermit for the past month.

"How's Bellerophon?" I asked, eating a chicken nugget.

"He's fine," Quiet Sword said. "Still very arrogant. He spends a lot of time parading around on his pegasus."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course he does."

"He misses you," Quiet Sword said. "He hasn't actually said it, but I know he does."

I shrugged. "Well, I kinda miss him too. How's it going with the gods?"

"Some of them are… being more helpful than others," Quiet Sword replied, sweating nervously. "As for the Big Two, they're starting to figure things out… I think." He shrugged. "Well, they haven't accidentally destroyed a city in ages, so that's a good sign."

"Wow," I laughed, dipping a chicken nugget in ketchup. "And… um, how about you? What's it like, being a knight?"

"It's been amazing," Quiet Sword said, his eyes lighting up. "I've got to meet a ton of people, travel… even my birth island welcomed me back! They see me as a real superhero now."

"That's great." I said, with a small smile.

"Well, how about you?" Quiet Sword asked. "I haven't seen you very much recently."

"I've been…" I started, then frowned. "Well, you know."

"Yeah…" Quiet Sword looked at his hands. "I'm… really sorry for you. I wish I knew how to help you."

"You do," I said, suddenly.

"Huh?" Quiet Sword asked.

"Your powers," I said. "You can change the timeline. Bring her back."

Quiet Sword creased his brow. "Alice, I don't like using my powers unless it's an emergencies."

"Please," I said, tempted to get on my knees. "I… I can't stay here like this. If you can't bring her back, at least let me go back to my world. I don't want to be here anymore."

"Alice, you're the mortal advisor," Quiet Sword said. "You can't just leave."

"I don't care," I said, falling to my knees. "I'm not happy here, anymore."

"Alice…" Quiet Sword said, holding out his hand.

"If you won't help me, I'll just… I'll just…" I clenched my fists, digging my nails into my skin. "Die!"

Tears built up in my eyes. I choked back a sob. Quiet Sword put his hand on my shoulder, and hugged me. I leaned into his chest, and sobbed. He smelled faintly like spices, and metal, strangely.

"You'll be okay," he said. "Just-"

"Send me back," I grabbed the collar of his shirt. People were watching, but I didn't care. "Please."

I heard him sigh. "Fine. I will."

And everything went white.


	29. Find your World

I woke up, feeling... pretty good. Today was a special day. I stretched, climbing out of bed. My room had become a little more colourful since I was younger; there were photos on the walls and colourful curtains, turning the sunlight various shades of blue and green. Schoolwork was covering my desk. But I wasn't worried about that today. I opened my bedroom door, and saw my mum smiling at me from downstairs.

Today was my birthday!

"Happy Birthday, A̴̢͉̩̬̘̲̘̖̺̰͓͎̠̫͂̅̄̄̅̔͌͑̎͝l̶̖̬̰͈̹̪͎̖̑͒̈́͌̅̈́̀̇̊̈́̚͘̚͜i̸̢̼͉̞̳̙̳̜͕̾̆͂͐̉́͒͆̊́̍̊͐͊͠c̴̤͈͚̻̥̤̓͒̂̿̍̕͜͝e̵̛̖̓̏̎̌̋̌̌̐̆͆̋̐̇͜͝!" M̴̼̃̓̓͛̊͌͌̔͘ÿ̶̡̩̤̠̬̒̈́̈̑͜ ̶̛͇̱̣̗͚̣̫͉̻̍̊̊͒̉m̴̪̓̇͋̔̏͂͋̆̓̀̀͝͝͠ǫ̵̟̯̦͖̣̻͓̰̭̱̊̓̍͑̈̂̊̑̉̚t̶̨̡̧̡̰͉̰̺̰̜̫͔͖͈̙̆̐́̆͐̓̅̀̊͒̔̈́̔͌h̵͈̖̦̑̒̂ë̷͙͈ŕ̸̛͇̥͉͎̜̻̭̹̗͓͆͗̅̓̀͒̂̎͘͠͝ ̵̮̙͍̩̺̾̀̿̀͌͆̽͒̃̋́͜͠͝ grinned, holding out her arms.

"Thanks, M̷͇̙̀̈́̃͗̓̂̃̐͋̊͊͋̀͘͝õ̵̲̥̼̣͎͇͒m̴̧̢̤͍̰̐ ̴̧̡͚̮̗̯̞͍̳̳̝̒̿̔̀͋͐́̿͐͌́͘ͅ." I said, walking down the stairs to give her a hug.

"Sweet sixteen, huh?" M̷͇̙̀̈́̃͗̓̂̃̐͋̊͊͋̀͘͝õ̵̲̥̼̣͎͇͒m̴̧̢̤͍̰̐ ̴̧̡͚̮̗̯̞͍̳̳̝̒̿̔̀͋͐́̿͐͌́͘ͅ laughed. She sighed, shaking her head. "Only two more years until you're an adult..."

"Heh, yeah..." I said, faintly blushing. "And after all... I can start learning how to drive now."

I shivered. Despite everything I'd been through in P̶̯̮̓̀̑̆̉͒͒̐̇̚ǫ̴̡̛̦̱̙̜̟̠̘͎̟̩͚̲͍̈́̓̌̂̅̍̓̕͝p̵̡̮͎͚͑̓͌͊̓͂͜͜ṱ̸̑̒̅̃͋́͠r̵̯̀͑̈́̄͆͊͑̊ǫ̵̮̯̤̯̗̘̠̠̈́̕͝ͅp̶̡̡͉͇̼̼͓̬̦͕̀̏͆̔̀̃̌͌̕̕̚ͅi̸̢̭̺̫̩̺̺̻̰͕̣͚̰̪͌͑̄̀̂͋̓̔̉͐̐͠c̶̝̦͆a̴̛͈͊̉͌̑́̇͛ ̷̧̤̻̙̺̰͍̯̬͋́, learning to drive in the real world scared me. Especially since... well, I promised myself one thing. I would be a safe driver. And I'd stay calm. I hoped, anyway.

"Yes..." M̷͇̙̀̈́̃͗̓̂̃̐͋̊͊͋̀͘͝õ̵̲̥̼̣͎͇͒m̴̧̢̤͍̰̐ ̴̧̡͚̮̗̯̞͍̳̳̝̒̿̔̀͋͐́̿͐͌́͘ͅ looked nervous. She chuckled. "Well, anyway, it's your birthday! Your friends are coming over, right?"

"Yeah," I smiled. "Ḿ̵̩̪͝a̴̧̗̦̼̍͆̃̎͐͂̐̔̋̈̓͗̄͜r̸̡̹̠̱̣̯̙̲̬̄̌͝ç̷̡̛͈̈̈́̾ų̷̨͚̫̘̯̬̙̙̲̄̆̚s̸̡͕̼̘̦̹͉̫̥̰̝͝͝ͅ ̵͔͌͝a̷͔̐ṇ̶̢̡̨̛͍̫̻͔̜̱͍̫̋͐̈́́̍d̶̖͖̦̺͚̞̺͓̈́͑̋͒͐ ̴̩̰̻̙̏̃͛C̵̱͎̼̻͙͈̞̠̦̽͋̆͗̈́̕h̴̡̬̝̼͇̫̤͖͇͔̝͑͜r̸̢̺͕̭̟͆͛ͅi̵̢͎͖̞̲̯̙̳͉͇̪̦̬̳̻̒̄͐̃s̵̢̧̮̞͍̭̣̱̥̝̯͚͈̲̾̃̄͛͝ş̴̪̬̭͙̂̅͐̀̋̈́͒͌͋̍̿́͘͠i̷̳̎͌̎̉͒͝ ̸̤̖̺͔̀͌̈́̓̈̀̔̍̇͗͊̀͐́̔."

Ironically, only two years ago C̵̱͎̼̻͙͈̞̠̦̽͋̆͗̈́̕h̴̡̬̝̼͇̫̤͖͇͔̝͑͜r̸̢̺͕̭̟͆͛ͅi̵̢͎͖̞̲̯̙̳͉͇̪̦̬̳̻̒̄͐̃s̵̢̧̮̞͍̭̣̱̥̝̯͚͈̲̾̃̄͛͝ş̴̪̬̭͙̂̅͐̀̋̈́͒͌͋̍̿́͘͠i̷̳̎͌̎̉͒͝and I had been enemies. After L̷̠̜̱̰̖̭͇̞͖͔͍̤̆̅́̀͋͠ͅǫ̵̧̯̥̳͕̜̼͇̗̩̪̟̖́̿͊̽͒ư̵̧͙̙͍̠̙̰̹̯̦̳̋͗̈́̾̎̏̓̈̀̕͠͝͠ͅͅi̵̧̧̫͓̗̙̥̮̔̐͒̂̓͑̑͆̈̎͘͜s̷͈̙̖̜̩̦̜͒a̷̛͍̝̫̜̦̣̘̠̒̆͆͛̃ ̴̡̢̛͔͈̦̤͔̭̙̮̩̻̯̠͒͑̐͘ died, however, we managed to turn things around and became pretty good friends. A nerdy kid called Ḿ̵̩̪͝a̴̧̗̦̼̍͆̃̎͐͂̐̔̋̈̓͗̄͜r̸̡̹̠̱̣̯̙̲̬̄̌͝ç̷̡̛͈̈̈́̾ų̷̨͚̫̘̯̬̙̙̲̄̆̚s̸̡͕̼̘̦̹͉̫̥̰̝͝͝ͅ also joined the friendship group, and now we were basically the Golden Trio. Some people might have wanted twenty friends but those two were enough for me. I was happy with it. Quality over quantity, right? And besides, I had plenty more friends in P̶̯̮̓̀̑̆̉͒͒̐̇̚ǫ̴̡̛̦̱̙̜̟̠̘͎̟̩͚̲͍̈́̓̌̂̅̍̓̕͝p̵̡̮͎͚͑̓͌͊̓͂͜͜ṱ̸̑̒̅̃͋́͠r̵̯̀͑̈́̄͆͊͑̊ǫ̵̮̯̤̯̗̘̠̠̈́̕͝ͅp̶̡̡͉͇̼̼͓̬̦͕̀̏͆̔̀̃̌͌̕̕̚ͅi̸̢̭̺̫̩̺̺̻̰͕̣͚̰̪͌͑̄̀̂͋̓̔̉͐̐͠c̶̝̦͆a̴̛͈͊̉͌̑́̇͛ .

P̶̯̮̓̀̑̆̉͒͒̐̇̚ǫ̴̡̛̦̱̙̜̟̠̘͎̟̩͚̲͍̈́̓̌̂̅̍̓̕͝p̵̡̮͎͚͑̓͌͊̓͂͜͜ṱ̸̑̒̅̃͋́͠r̵̯̀͑̈́̄͆͊͑̊ǫ̵̮̯̤̯̗̘̠̠̈́̕͝ͅp̶̡̡͉͇̼̼͓̬̦͕̀̏͆̔̀̃̌͌̕̕̚ͅi̸̢̭̺̫̩̺̺̻̰͕̣͚̰̪͌͑̄̀̂͋̓̔̉͐̐͠c̶̝̦͆a̴̛͈͊̉͌̑́̇͛ ... it had been a long time. I still frequently thought about my friends in there, and the new prophecy. It was scary... but I was ready. I hoped so, anyway. It had been awhile, after all. How was everyone?

Wait a minute…

Poptropica…

Didn't something… happen, there? I'd… had some big adventure, with some new friends. The memory was so distant, I could barely picture it…

"A̴̢͉̩̬̘̲̘̖̺̰͓͎̠̫͂̅̄̄̅̔͌͑̎͝l̶̖̬̰͈̹̪͎̖̑͒̈́͌̅̈́̀̇̊̈́̚͘̚͜i̸̢̼͉̞̳̙̳̜͕̾̆͂͐̉́͒͆̊́̍̊͐͊͠c̴̤͈͚̻̥̤̓͒̂̿̍̕͜͝e̵̛̖̓̏̎̌̋̌̌̐̆͆̋̐̇͜͝, ̵̢̧̨̨̻̭̮̫̱̘̖̙͙͍̝̎̚͝i̶̡̟͓͓̹͇̎̀̾s̶̬̞̎̊̏́̋̄̅͗͜͝ ̵̢̧̨̨̻̭̮̫̱̘̖̙͙͍̝̎̚͝t̷̘͖̤͔͇͊̎̅̉͐̏̚͘͝h̸̢͈̳̹͙͇̻̬̟̯̀̾̍͑̀̀̎͗̅̈́̚͜͝ḙ̸̼͕͍̥͓̊̑̀r̵̨̨̦̹̦̟̩̳̜̱͒͛̄͋̿̀͛͌̎͝ͅe̷̛̮̥̼̰̤̱̦̔̎ͅ ̴̡͕̖͍͙̳̥̯͓̇̿ş̴͉̥͎̉͋͊̍̚o̸̢̦̭͕͈͖̣̹͍̰̖̣͈͔͗̈͜m̸̺͕̓́ͅẻ̴̜̙͋̀́͛̿͝͝t̸̨͇̩̗͉̜̙̤̖͖͔͋̓̇́̋͝h̷̯͙͑̒̚͝i̵̡̛͇̬̝͙̰̼̙̹̭͒̉̐ṉ̵̛̖̓̌̄͗ḡ̵̨̡̼̳͈̯̄̒͝ ̶̛̪̯̖͈̯̜͍̬̔̔̏̒̊̀̈́̓̀͜͝w̷̩͚͇͕̘͈̜͖̥͍̙̎̈́̓̓̋̋͝͠ͅͅŗ̵̢̨̛̰̞͔̹̬̼̯̖̝͌̾̓̽̈́̓͐́̌͘͠͝ơ̶̬͈̭̻̟̟͛͆͑͛̏͊n̸̛̹̂̐̈́̈́̈́̀̈́͗̑̔͌͝͝ģ̴̛͇͎̺͖̘̤͙͕͔̏̇̀͂̽̐͝ͅ?̵̯̯͆̏̌͑̎̾̈́̏͐ ̸̨̨̛̛̺͍͔̦̻̹̜̖̟͗͛͌̈́̚͜" M̷͇̙̀̈́̃͗̓̂̃̐͋̊͊͋̀͘͝õ̵̲̥̼̣͎͇͒m̴̧̢̤͍̰̐ asked me.

I grabbed the sides of my head. It was pounding. Her voice sounded so… off.

"̷̯̳̭̿̏̈́͊̉̋̚Ǎ̸̡̰̦̼̱̜̺͝l̷͖̠̽̑̿̆͊̈́̀̒̽͌̎̀͌͘̕͜i̵̞̪̞̤̯̭̠̙̖̟͒̾͑̏̈́̃̉̃ç̴̘̳̳͚̟̟̳̥̺̰̗̥̜̝͆́͗͋͝ȩ̸͓̹̫͉̟̭̺͍̣̤̦̄̑̃̈́́͗̎̆̍̌͛͋̔̚,̷̧̡̱͈̥̹̘̜̥̠̱̝̳̮̋̍͋ͅ ̷͉̙̥̾̇̐̓̽̎̿͋͒͠y̴͎̦̓͂̇͑̎̀̾͋̑̐͘͝o̸͕̹̮͙̎̃̈́̍̆̍͛̕͘͠u̷̗̻͍̘̗̦̠̔̿̆̈́̈́͆̆̀̈͌͝͝ ̶̧̫̲͇̖͖͔̩͍͛̈́͛̒͋͒̓̓̈͋̿̚͜ͅͅk̶̖̙̾̋̔̽̾̍͋̋̑͘͝ñ̶̛̹̘̪͖̽͐̏̈́͒͋͊̕ò̷̧̭͖̪͙̲̟̓͒͛͂̀̌̄̉̀́͛̈́͜͝ẇ̸͍̱̩̱̜̌͊͂͑̀͌͊ ̸̛̞̫̤̭̯̹̟̝̍̓̈́̄͑̕͠͠Í̷̻͑͒'̸̻̥̅̄ṁ̷̢̨̻̦̥̻͕̹̘͎͔̭̠̹̑̊͑́̄̎͑̽̐̋ͅ ̶͍̳̭̹͇̭̤̙̟̺̩͙͂̈́̑̈́̎̊̚h̴̨̨̛̛͓̭͔̤͍̪͉̳̰̱̏̀̐̾͗̓͌̀̂͐̅͌̅͜ę̸̖͔̪͍̠̞̗͙͕͗̊̍̀r̷͚̪̓͋͑̓͜e̵̳̟̱͚̫̝͍͑̍͑́̋̎ ̵̨̦͇̤͚̣̳̺̫̻̔i̶̘̙̙͓̜͎̲̓̾̂̌̒̀̈́͗̃́͘͝f̵̫̲̳͈̦͍͖̝̻͕̘̰̗̜͆̓̃̎͂́͌̓̽͐̊̄ ̷̘̝̐̽͒̂̍̑̂̉̎͠y̴̞̳̠̼̅͆͝ǫ̵̘͕͔̱̘͖͓̺̥̌́̏̊̇̆͝͝ǘ̵̪͇̖͚͊̈̅̈́͋̂͒̾̚ ̸̟̼͍̦͒ṋ̷͇͓̘̞͛̂̽̔͆̉̿̍̊͆͠ĕ̷̛͙̩̼͎̒̀͐̇̋͊́̊̓ę̶̛̹̰̦̬̙͖̟̫̔́̏̍̇̀̆̍́͌̕̚͜͝d̴̨͕̮͆̎͆͑͐͌̆͗̀̊͜͝ͅͅ ̵̡̡̛̼̥͑͛̏͝t̵̙̪̪͔͆̂͋̓̈́̈́̄̄̒̈̓͑̐̓̚ö̸̡̟̳̬̦̜͓̬̜͉́̀͋͑͂̎̉͂͒̒ ̴̢̪̝̘͔͈͐̋͐̏̽́̇́̈́̐t̵̢̛̬̞̙͕̯̀̀͗̓̽͊̾̌͛̑̚̕͠à̸̖̘̼̱͓ḽ̷̨͕̞̤̣̣̯͔̠͛͋ḱ̷̡̙̬̻̂͒̾̏̐̒̾.̷͉͓͉̻̺͐͌͐͛͊͐̕̕"̵̡̨̭̲̭̳͉̭̳̞̣̥͌̀̍̈͋̾͒ͅ ̷̢̧̫͉̖͕͍̭͓̮̪͙̟̰͐̇̓̍̚͜ she asked.

"No," I said, turning away. "No, this is… this is all wrong."

Before Mom could ask anything else, I bolted outside, my head pounding. I ran down the street, no destination in mind. I didn't even know what I was doing. I just kept running, everything going past me in a blur. I thought I heard someone calling my name, but I ignored it.

Then I was on the road. There was something coming towards me.

"ALICE!" a voice screamed.

A car hit me, and I blacked out.

* * *

I stood up and looked around at this new world. The sky is a brilliant blue and little puffy clouds are here and there. I was standing on a stone bridge, which was connected with metal rods and hanging high above the ocean. On my right there's a small, dirty, light ocean coloured plane, that looks like it has been taken from the 1900s. It also has a bit of wear and tear, with little scratches on its surface. A girl was standing near it. I gasped; I recognized her. She was A̴̜͔̪͉̱̪̼͕̣̟̤͈̽̚͝m̸̢̠̖̘̟̭͙̭͇͌̑̔̉̌͒̿͝ë̶̛̛̦͓̬̺͍̬͈̘͓́͆̆̇̂͑̉̒͐̌̚̕̚ͅl̸̨̠͈͎̘͔̱̞̲͚̯͉̭͖̈̎̌̽̓ͅį̶̦̰̟͍͚̜͉̲͛͛͗̌̑̀͐̒͐͠ả̵̱͔̟̖̯̠̟͇̟͗͛͗́̐̈́͝. A̴̜͔̪͉̱̪̼͕̣̟̤͈̽̚͝m̸̢̠̖̘̟̭͙̭͇͌̑̔̉̌͒̿͝ë̶̛̛̦͓̬̺͍̬͈̘͓́͆̆̇̂͑̉̒͐̌̚̕̚ͅl̸̨̠͈͎̘͔̱̞̲͚̯͉̭͖̈̎̌̽̓ͅį̶̦̰̟͍͚̜͉̲͛͛͗̌̑̀͐̒͐͠ả̵̱͔̟̖̯̠̟͇̟͗͛͗́̐̈́͝ from Ṕ̵̧̟̝͇̗͇̮̥̬̳ô̴̡̧̖͇̘̪͚̫͖͍͎̜̂̄̾͒̏̅́̓͝͝p̴͔̉̓͘ẗ̴̢̙̳̬͉̣͕̤͉̣͖͉̘̣́͒̈͐̉̾̇́̊̿̚r̸̭̮̯̝͈͕͇̪͕̖͋̈́͘͘̚o̴͔̙͔̓̃͆̿̓͒̆̈́̐̂͗̇͆͘͝ͅp̵̨̩̯͈͈͊̆̇̅̍̔͂̈́̑͐i̵̝̜̲͆̾͗̓̔͘c̴̠̰̠̟̖͍̫̯̜͇̅͒͗̿̓͑̍͊͒̾̇̾́͊̕ā̴̜͖͛̅̾̀̈́̈́͊̐͊͗̔͝͠. But not only that. I was actually  _in_ Ṕ̵̧̟̝͇̗͇̮̥̬̳ô̴̡̧̖͇̘̪͚̫͖͍͎̜̂̄̾͒̏̅́̓͝͝p̴͔̉̓͘ẗ̴̢̙̳̬͉̣͕̤͉̣͖͉̘̣́͒̈͐̉̾̇́̊̿̚r̸̭̮̯̝͈͕͇̪͕̖͋̈́͘͘̚o̴͔̙͔̓̃͆̿̓͒̆̈́̐̂͗̇͆͘͝ͅp̵̨̩̯͈͈͊̆̇̅̍̔͂̈́̑͐i̵̝̜̲͆̾͗̓̔͘c̴̠̰̠̟̖͍̫̯̜͇̅͒͗̿̓͑̍͊͒̾̇̾́͊̕ā̴̜͖͛̅̾̀̈́̈́͊̐͊͗̔͝͠.

I breathed out very quickly and stumbled back, my head spinning.  _How on Earth can I be in_ Ṕ̵̧̟̝͇̗͇̮̥̬̳ô̴̡̧̖͇̘̪͚̫͖͍͎̜̂̄̾͒̏̅́̓͝͝p̴͔̉̓͘ẗ̴̢̙̳̬͉̣͕̤͉̣͖͉̘̣́͒̈͐̉̾̇́̊̿̚r̸̭̮̯̝͈͕͇̪͕̖͋̈́͘͘̚o̴͔̙͔̓̃͆̿̓͒̆̈́̐̂͗̇͆͘͝ͅp̵̨̩̯͈͈͊̆̇̅̍̔͂̈́̑͐i̵̝̜̲͆̾͗̓̔͘c̴̠̰̠̟̖͍̫̯̜͇̅͒͗̿̓͑̍͊͒̾̇̾́͊̕ā̴̜͖͛̅̾̀̈́̈́͊̐͊͗̔͝͠ _?_  I was there, on my computer, about to sign in... Then there was a flash... What happened? I clutched my forehead with my thumb-less hand. I squealed and looked at my body, my nausea kicking into high gear. I was about to fall over again, when an arm grabbed me. A̴̜͔̪͉̱̪̼͕̣̟̤͈̽̚͝m̸̢̠̖̘̟̭͙̭͇͌̑̔̉̌͒̿͝ë̶̛̛̦͓̬̺͍̬͈̘͓́͆̆̇̂͑̉̒͐̌̚̕̚ͅl̸̨̠͈͎̘͔̱̞̲͚̯͉̭͖̈̎̌̽̓ͅį̶̦̰̟͍͚̜͉̲͛͛͗̌̑̀͐̒͐͠ả̵̱͔̟̖̯̠̟͇̟͗͛͗́̐̈́͝ smiled at me. She wears a leather cap with a yellow eagle print; flight goggles on her neck; a brown zip-up jacket and leather pants.

"You alright?" she asked, helping me stand still. My nausea started to clear- although I had to blink a few times to get myself back into the now. I nodded, miming as words couldn't even come to my lips.

"What's your name, sweet pea?" she asked with kindness. I sighed.

"̴̧̼̥̝̬͂̈́́̕͘ͅȦ̸̛͉̭̼̞̖̎̓̌͊͌̂̆ĺ̶̨̲̫̲̺̥͇̖̯î̷̢̙̗̯̪̖̈́̂̃̽͝c̸̛̲̩̬̳̓̏̈̒̃̏̆̐̓̍̎͗è̷̛̛͖̹͖̩̘̝̘̺̭͖͇̫̤̐̏̃̍̌̍̊̒̇̚̕͘... My name's ̴̧̼̥̝̬͂̈́́̕͘ͅȦ̸̛͉̭̼̞̖̎̓̌͊͌̂̆ĺ̶̨̲̫̲̺̥͇̖̯î̷̢̙̗̯̪̖̈́̂̃̽͝c̸̛̲̩̬̳̓̏̈̒̃̏̆̐̓̍̎͗è̷̛̛͖̹͖̩̘̝̘̺̭͖͇̫̤̐̏̃̍̌̍̊̒̇̚̕͘..." I answered quietly, putting my hands by my side. I hoped for dear God that she heard me; I could be very quiet. She smiled.

"Nice to meet you, ̴̧̼̥̝̬͂̈́́̕͘ͅȦ̸̛͉̭̼̞̖̎̓̌͊͌̂̆ĺ̶̨̲̫̲̺̥͇̖̯î̷̢̙̗̯̪̖̈́̂̃̽͝c̸̛̲̩̬̳̓̏̈̒̃̏̆̐̓̍̎͗è̷̛̛͖̹͖̩̘̝̘̺̭͖͇̫̤̐̏̃̍̌̍̊̒̇̚̕͘! My name's-"

"A̴̜͔̪͉̱̪̼͕̣̟̤͈̽̚͝m̸̢̠̖̘̟̭͙̭͇͌̑̔̉̌͒̿͝ë̶̛̛̦͓̬̺͍̬͈̘͓́͆̆̇̂͑̉̒͐̌̚̕̚ͅl̸̨̠͈͎̘͔̱̞̲͚̯͉̭͖̈̎̌̽̓ͅį̶̦̰̟͍͚̜͉̲͛͛͗̌̑̀͐̒͐͠ả̵̱͔̟̖̯̠̟͇̟͗͛͗́̐̈́͝ ?" I interrupted, the words leaving before I could stop them. I clasped a hand over my mouth, mentally slapping myself.

"Yeah... that's right... How did you know?" A̴̜͔̪͉̱̪̼͕̣̟̤͈̽̚͝m̸̢̠̖̘̟̭͙̭͇͌̑̔̉̌͒̿͝ë̶̛̛̦͓̬̺͍̬͈̘͓́͆̆̇̂͑̉̒͐̌̚̕̚ͅl̸̨̠͈͎̘͔̱̞̲͚̯͉̭͖̈̎̌̽̓ͅį̶̦̰̟͍͚̜͉̲͛͛͗̌̑̀͐̒͐͠ả̵̱͔̟̖̯̠̟͇̟͗͛͗́̐̈́͝ asked, staring at me suspiciously.

"Because…" I felt odd again. A rush of deja vu hit me. "I know you."

"Huh?"

"I've met you before." I said. "I've been here before."

A̴̜͔̪͉̱̪̼͕̣̟̤͈̽̚͝m̸̢̠̖̘̟̭͙̭͇͌̑̔̉̌͒̿͝ë̶̛̛̦͓̬̺͍̬͈̘͓́͆̆̇̂͑̉̒͐̌̚̕̚ͅl̸̨̠͈͎̘͔̱̞̲͚̯͉̭͖̈̎̌̽̓ͅį̶̦̰̟͍͚̜͉̲͛͛͗̌̑̀͐̒͐͠ả̵̱͔̟̖̯̠̟͇̟͗͛͗́̐̈́͝ looked confused. "I… I don't think we have, Alice."

"No," I panted, and crawled back. "I don't understand… what's going on?"

"̴̧̼̥̝̬͂̈́́̕͘ͅÁ̵̭̈́̓̆̋́l̷̢̛̠͖̘͕̊̍͐̽͒͊̂̍ȋ̷̧̨̛̳̗͚̰̓͒̐͂̋̈́͘͠͝͝c̷̨̛̘̳̥̹̏̆͐̄͐͑͛̽͛̈́͝ę̸̧̨͈̄͆͛̄͆̊,̷̛̭̣̺̫̾̈͊́̓̿̾̽̆̉́̚ ̶͓͚̞͛͐̅͘ã̶̛̝͑̂͊̎̃̀͘̚ȓ̴͙̹̳͛̀͛̓̀͐̊̚͝͝ě̴̖͉̗͕̼͉̤̹̤͕̥͚̉̐̌̏̓͋͛̀͝ͅ ̷̡̭̺̦̾͐̄̔̒͑̈́̇̕̚͘̕͠͝y̶͓͈̞͍̼̫̪͆͒̀̄͌́͋̀͘͘͝ǒ̴̬̦̆̒̈́̃͂̍̓̀̓̚û̵̞͔͕̪̙̰̤̈́̀̐̿̇͑̊̈́͂̑̏͘͠ ̵̡̧̧̬̖̗̬̬̜̓̿͂͊̍̋̒͌́̄̾͝͠͠o̸̢͕̩̜̻̙̬̠͖̳͂́k̴̤̒̂̽̂͑͆̂ą̵̨̱͚̤͔̲̦͉̪̯͍͈̭͇͒́̾̈́͌̀y̶̧̪͓̪̖̭͎͔̤͕̟̹̟͐͊̍̒͋́̈́ͅ?̷̯̩͓̺̰͖͈̲̪̲͇͓̍̂͋͝" A̴̜͔̪͉̱̪̼͕̣̟̤͈̽̚͝m̸̢̠̖̘̟̭͙̭͇͌̑̔̉̌͒̿͝ë̶̛̛̦͓̬̺͍̬͈̘͓́͆̆̇̂͑̉̒͐̌̚̕̚ͅl̸̨̠͈͎̘͔̱̞̲͚̯͉̭͖̈̎̌̽̓ͅį̶̦̰̟͍͚̜͉̲͛͛͗̌̑̀͐̒͐͠ả̵̱͔̟̖̯̠̟͇̟͗͛͗́̐̈́͝ asked, holding out a hand.

I screamed, crawling further back. I slipped off the edge of the island, and fell. I screamed as the falling never seemed to end.

* * *

H̶͕̭̙̑̒o̸̢̪̼͍̯͖̪̪͖̺͉̰̿͛̒̄͌̓͂̓͜͝͝ṃ̴̛̣̹͇͕̹̪̤̋̑̐͌̃̓̿͒̌͐̚̚͝e̵̘̳͈̅̽̚ ̴̧̮͈̱̖̙͑̊̈́͌̐̃̓̈́̇̅̍̽̌ͅv̵̡̛̦̻̲͕̩̫̠̥̋̌͌̆̔̀̔͑̊̂̓̇͐͠ͅs̸̛̛̖̗̘̔́̀͛̽̋̽ ̷̬͕̘̓͂͊̈́͗̽̑̅̏P̴͈̗̄̌̈͊͋̾͌̆͑̒̈o̵̦̤̺͔͔̺̘̜̦̫̐̾̃͋̆̂͘p̵͇̭̂̏͊̄̋̃͛̈́͆͆͘ṱ̴̩͂̀̈́r̶̡̼̳͎͉͎̠̲̪̗̳̞̖̍̂ͅo̷̥͎͍͚̱̤̰͖̬̲̘̻̭̞̘̔͒̑p̵̢̨̨̢̛̥̫̗̻͚̣̜̝̮̑̃͋͐̊̀̍͋̑̑͘͠͠ͅĩ̴͓̞͍͕̻͇͔͔̙̺͓̠̓̉̌̽̃̊̆͐̍̎̄̀͜ć̴̨͓̝̜̱̮͚̮̹͈̦̗̲̺̝̃͒̓̿̓̒̈̒͠a̸͖̣̗̩̫͊̏͋͛̾̈͜͝. The choice seemed so easy... so obvious. I reached out to my living room.

"Alice, don't you dare!" F̵̡̡̡͈̻̯̞̦̲̘͑͋̔̃̔̃͜͝ͅi̷̮̦̠̺͕͓̇̅͑̇̈̄̀̋͘e̵̟͔͍͕̹̜͕̜̼̣͚͇̔̀̈̍̅̓̄͜͝r̵̨̨͚͈̝̜̲̤͕̠̝̝͓̄̒̒c̵̡͚̳̠̫̞̖̲͑ể̸̛͔̘̮̎̽͆̄͛̀̾̕̚͘̚͝ ̴̡̣̥͎̻̅̀̉͒F̵̨̲̼̟̜͇͚̙̼͖̓͑̐̑̀͋͋̂͛͆̓̄̾͠o̷̧̯̿́̀x̶̛̛͚̟͈̘̩͇̯̪̯͓̬̬̉̾͋͗͒͘ ̸̮̠̟̩͕̖̜͓̲̑̂̋ warned, looking old like her future self.

"I can't, F̵̡̡̡͈̻̯̞̦̲̘͑͋̔̃̔̃͜͝ͅi̷̮̦̠̺͕͓̇̅͑̇̈̄̀̋͘e̵̟͔͍͕̹̜͕̜̼̣͚͇̔̀̈̍̅̓̄͜͝r̵̨̨͚͈̝̜̲̤͕̠̝̝͓̄̒̒c̵̡͚̳̠̫̞̖̲͑ể̸̛͔̘̮̎̽͆̄͛̀̾̕̚͘̚͝ ̴̡̣̥͎̻̅̀̉͒F̵̨̲̼̟̜͇͚̙̼͖̓͑̐̑̀͋͋̂͛͆̓̄̾͠o̷̧̯̿́̀x̶̛̛͚̟͈̘̩͇̯̪̯͓̬̬̉̾͋͗͒͘ ̸̮̠̟̩͕̖̜͓̲̑̂̋." I said quietly. "It's the end." My parents were smiling at me from the living room. So inviting, so safe...

"You can take them on!" F̵̡̡̡͈̻̯̞̦̲̘͑͋̔̃̔̃͜͝ͅi̷̮̦̠̺͕͓̇̅͑̇̈̄̀̋͘e̵̟͔͍͕̹̜͕̜̼̣͚͇̔̀̈̍̅̓̄͜͝r̵̨̨͚͈̝̜̲̤͕̠̝̝͓̄̒̒c̵̡͚̳̠̫̞̖̲͑ể̸̛͔̘̮̎̽͆̄͛̀̾̕̚͘̚͝ ̴̡̣̥͎̻̅̀̉͒F̵̨̲̼̟̜͇͚̙̼͖̓͑̐̑̀͋͋̂͛͆̓̄̾͠o̷̧̯̿́̀x̶̛̛͚̟͈̘̩͇̯̪̯͓̬̬̉̾͋͗͒͘ ̸̮̠̟̩͕̖̜͓̲̑̂̋ encouraged. She eyed the godly weapons laying on the floor, shining brilliantly. "You can destroy them!"

"I can't," I insisted. "Godly power won't be able to stop them."

"No," Ŝ̸̩͐̾͋̂̑̀͌̈́̍̕͝p̵̨̺̟̜͇̰͚̟̗̱͒̊̌̃̾̾͠r̵̤̙̱̺͍͕͖̲̪̠͕̣̻̐̽̏̐̌͊͐͜͜͠͠ơ̶̢̗͙̼̠̏̇̐̆͒͜͠͝c̸̛̛̛̛͎͙͉̝͇̗̘͔̾͌͆̽̀̾̏̏̏͝͠k̶͔̬͚̟̣̭͌̎̀̔̍́͒́͛̚͝ë̷̳͓̣́̐̉͌̄̐͌̏̋͘t̷̢͙̭̗̺̺̭͕̜̂́̌̂͗̓̾̄̿̆̚͘͠͠ ̸̘̱̘̲͑̽͌̍͜ was now awake. "But what about human and... godly power? I heard humans have lots of power here..."

"I don't know..." I said, feeling weak inside. Bursts of hope within me were like firecrackers, trying to explode. But my brain wasn't giving them any ignition.

"̵̩̮̖̦͎̏́̑̽T̵̛̖̭̭̤͉̰̘̣͈͕̲̝̩̔̎̅̈́̂̐͒̆̀̀̓̓͝͝h̵̢̛̺͙͙̹̊̈́̊̂̽͌̒̃͋͝e̷̡̢͍̣̻̗̫̟͙̮̹̼͉̅̆̄̽̑͌̔̆̕͝ͅ ̴̤̱͔̞͌̌̎́̓̉̈́̕p̸̨̢͕̝̗̺̫͇͓̲̝̖̝͆͜o̵̡̡̩̝̘̺̻͎̣̺̭̳̅͂͛̓̈́́̀͆̄̈́͌͝w̴̨̞̳͔͎̳̜̭͙͒̾̕ę̷͚͚̠͓̮̫̠̗̟͌̃͂̈́̈́̈́̔̃̈́͝͝ŕ̷̢̛̘̳̲̻̻̯̼̯̬͈͓̫͓̏̉͊ ̶̛̲͓̰͓͓͇̐̄̂̎̄̈́̈́̅̚̕̚͜͝͝w̷̡͙̮̅̃̉̽̓̊̔̊̄͌̈́̚i̸̛͇̮͕̬̞̟̹͇̟̱̻̠̙̰̬l̸̝̈́͒́̒͒̿͑̍l̶̡̥̫̙͙̼̀̅͒́̔̃͐ͅ ̵͕͎̹̮̬̦̬̳͔̺̙̗̺̒͛͂̒͒̿ͅͅb̴̫͙͙̥̖͎͛̈́̉̽́̆͒̚̕̕͠͝͠e̷̡̯̭̺̻̖̠͇͎͐͊͊͊̔̈͐́̋́̋̑̽͐͝ ̵̢̝̯́ư̸̡͚̘̥̯͉͕͖̬͓͆̄̂̔̈́́͂̊̆͌͑̚͝n̷̨͓̠͉̠̲̩̙̉̉̂͝͝ͅl̵̨̧̡̢͉̞̠̙̖̫̙̭̎̋͐́̄͛̎͠͝e̵̖͓͕̥̰̦̙̒͛̈́̂̎̅̎̅̔͗ͅä̵̛̖́͌s̷̨͍̦͈̗͂͘h̸̡̫̼͚̖̙̭̳̬͔̟̫̤͚̾̈́ͅe̷͕̣̤̓̄̑̄͜d̷͕͕́̾͋͒͌͆̚͝!̷̱͌͛͊̇͂͆͗̂͘̕"̶̗͚͙͈̞̫̪̿͐̊̏̌̄̈̿͐̐̐̓͛̚ ̵̻͔͉̼͈̬͖̝͖͇̏͂̓̐̒̈̽͋ͅL̷̢̡̛͈̙̰̳̮̰͙̤̠̐̽̋͂̑̐̓̓̔̿͒͘̚͜ơ̶̘͕̮͓̬̤̯͚̥̠̌̍͘ṳ̶͋̒̈̅̍̎͐̾͐̕͠i̷̮̼͍̰̻̊̏̎͊̓̊͐̔͛̈́̈́͂̋͌s̸͍̃̐̀͆̀͗͋͌͊̃̋̕͠a̸̧̼͓͚̯͇̰͙̣̱̍̈́̉̈́̐̇ ̸̨͈͕̹͕͉͔͛͂̏̾̓́͗̅̒͘͜͜͝͠ bellowed. She raised the totems; they glowed with white energy. Suddenly, they started taking energy from ̵̻͔͉̼͈̬͖̝͖͇̏͂̓̐̒̈̽͋ͅL̷̢̡̛͈̙̰̳̮̰͙̤̠̐̽̋͂̑̐̓̓̔̿͒͘̚͜ơ̶̘͕̮͓̬̤̯͚̥̠̌̍͘ṳ̶͋̒̈̅̍̎͐̾͐̕͠i̷̮̼͍̰̻̊̏̎͊̓̊͐̔͛̈́̈́͂̋͌s̸͍̃̐̀͆̀͗͋͌͊̃̋̕͠a̸̧̼͓͚̯͇̰͙̣̱̍̈́̉̈́̐̇ ̸̨͈͕̹͕͉͔͛͂̏̾̓́͗̅̒͘͜͜͝͠, turning her skin deathly pale. Red vanished from her cheeks and light fluttered out of her eyes.

Louisa was dying.

"FINALLY!" ̶̨̡̛̯̫̯͖̠̇̎̎̎͒͂͑̋̄́̕͝Z̷̨̻̞͖̟͊̀́͜ê̸͔͔̤̼̙̄͛́̎̚ṳ̷͖̠͙̠͉͒̋s̵͖͋̿̉̑̓͛̽̽͠ boomed as the totems surrounded him. "I HAVE FULL POWER!"

I sat up, a raging fire coursing through me. It wasn't going to end this way.

"NO!" I screamed. "NOT THIS TIME!"

I ran towards Louisa, holding out my hands. I pushed her away from the totems, but then felt their power turning on me. I screamed as everything burned away.

* * *

I didn't know how much longer I could handle this. What was happening? Was I alive, or dead? I wanted to cry, and wish it all away.

I curled into a ball. I was nowhere. Nothing. A no one.

I hadn't changed at all. I was still a worthless nobody.

Tears fell down my cheeks. They landed on my hands, like tiny molten pearls.

 _No… what am I doing?_  I thought. _I can't just keep sitting here and crying all the time. It won't get me anywhere. That's why I'm… such a failure._

I sat up, putting a hand on my chest. I knew what I needed to do.

I needed to find my world.


	30. Another new life

How do you find your home world? Had anyone ever asked that question?

I got up, unable to see much. Everything around me was distorted and broken, like some kind of messed up reality. There was no sound. I could only hear the pounding of my heart and my own breaths.

"Hello?" I yelled out. My voice echoed into the abyss. Nothing.

"I just want to go home," I said. "Can you take me there?"

I felt a tremor pass underneath my feet. I scrunched my brow up in confusion, and bent down. I pressed my hand against the floor. It felt cold and hard, like a rock.

"Who are you?" I asked. "What are you?"

I saw my reflection on the ground. I looked older, somehow. My hair had gone pale. More of a platinum blonde. I looked older, too; bags were under my eyes, and my skin was clammy.

"Am I dead?" I asked.

My reflection blinked back at me. My brown eyes had turned more of a murky, mud colour. I felt an emptiness settle over me.

"I don't know what this is," I said. "I just want to go home."

A voice hissed,  _the prophecy..._

"Huh?" I asked.

_The prophecy… has been fulfilled…_

"The prophecy…." I repeated. "What prophecy?"

A memory flashed in front of my eyes. Then I remembered.

_In a new world, three heroes will appear._

_One home again, one competitive and one shaking in fear._

_Long-gone vengeance will rise,_

_Taking the world as its prize._

_If the heroes succeed,_

_We will be free._

_But if they lose,_

_Every world is doomed._

The three heroes: Bellerophon, Quiet Sword, and Fierce Fox. Fierce Fox. She was gone. 'Every world is doomed'.

It was referring to me. Every world was doomed, for  _me_. I'd never be able to get over the guilt. I wouldn't be able to move on. I'd be stuck. Just like what had happened with my father.

Everything else came flowing back to me. All the other friends I'd made. The gods…

Quiet Sword had sent me here. Did he mean for this to happen?

Or maybe it just wasn't meant to happen. He had tried to warn me out of it, hadn't he…?

"I know what I did," I told my reflection. "Take me home."

The floor started to crack. My reflection split too; I saw my own face snap into two pieces.

"Take me home," I said, louder. "Take me home!"

Everything was shaking. I was too, but not out of fear. I was determined.

"TAKE ME HOME!" I screamed. And everything went white.

* * *

_"Alice?"_

My head was aching, like someone had put a knife through it. The voices sounded tinny like they were coming through an old radio.

"Alice, you okay?"

I looked up. A familiar face. No,  _faces_.

"Marcus," I said, breathless. "Chrissi."

"What is it?" Chrissi asked, concern in her blue eyes. She looked like Fierce Fox, what with her fiery red hair. But her eyes ruined the image. They were a gentle blue, while Fierce Fox's had been yellow.

"I…" I said. "I'm home… again."

"Um… yeah," Marcus said, looking awkward. "I mean, you fazed out for like ten second there… you okay?"

"Fazed out?" I asked. I felt my heart racing. "No way - I- I went back to Poptropica, and saved the world, and Louisa, but Fierce Fox…"

"I think you're hallucinating," Chrissi said, grabbing my arm. "You haven't been to Poptropica for two years."

"No," I shook my head. "No, that's… that's wrong…"

Marcus stood up. "Alice, maybe you should-"

"I need to go," I said. I stood up and shoved my chair back. My friends looked like they wanted to say something, but I dashed off before I could.

* * *

After a short bus ride, I got home. I ran through the house, ignoring the confused cries of my mom. As soon as I got to my room I opened my laptop and booted it up. I logged into Poptropica.

It wouldn't let me log in.

I did everything. I changed my password, my email, even my username…

It was all hopeless. Fierce Fox really was gone.

I sat there on the floor, my laptop in my lap. And I began to cry. I cried harder than I'd ever cried before, except for when my dad died. My face was wet with tears, and my sobs were painful. It was like I'd been stabbed but I'd never feel the relief of death.

"Alice…" I heard my mom come in. "Oh, Alice… what's wrong?"

Mom sat down beside me, and rubbed my back. Only recently I'd realised how lucky I was to have her. Some people didn't have anything.

I cried into her shoulder. Call me immature, I was 16. But that's what parents are for.

"What happened…?" Mom asked softly.

"Fierce Fox," I said.

"What about her?" Mom asked.

"She's dead," I said. And then I broke down even more.

It would never be the same.

...

* * *

**6 MONTHS LATER**

I was applying for my first job.

I'd been doing work experience for a little while, and now I was ready to apply myself. I had to admit, I was nervous. I'd sent in my application and they'd agreed to meet me, and while that was a good thing, I couldn't shake the nerves off. My friends and family had been very encouraging, though. Especially for these last few months.

I hadn't logged onto Poptropica since back then. And I knew I never would, ever again.

I leaned back on my seat on the bus, sighing. My driving was a little rough, so I was relying on public transport. I ran a hand through my hair, which I'd tied back. I was wearing a bit of make-up and my nicest clothing, just to look more formal.

After about ten minutes, the bus pulled to my stop, and I got off. My heels clacked against the cement, and I adjusted the bag on my shoulder. I felt so grown up. Only two years ago I'd been in Poptropica for the first time…

I directed my thoughts away from my childhood game and focused on walking to the correct building. It was only a short walk away, thankfully. I hated walking in heels. They were killing my feet.

That's when I saw someone familiar, standing nearby me. A kid around 17 with very pale, almost completely white skin. He had a scar across his cheek and black hair tousled across his forehead. His attire was completely black, too. His eyes were grey and looked very lifeless.

My heart clenched.

"Bellerophon," I said.

"Long time no see," Bellerophon chuckled. He was definitely taller than the last time I'd seen him, and more muscular.

"I'm not going back to Poptropica," I said, "if that's what you wondering."

"Hey, I just wanted to stop by," Bell said. "Is that so wrong?"

I huffed.

"Quiet Sword misses you," Bell said. "So does everyone else."

I sighed. "I know, but I can't go back. Not after…"

Bell shrugged. "You always were annoyingly stubborn. But in case you ever change your mind, the gods are still looking for a mortal adviser."

"They'll find someone better than me," I said. "I was worthless."

"You acted worthless," Bell replied, winking. "But you have potential."

"I'm going to an interview," I said. "Goodbye, Bellerophon."

"Enjoy having some average, mortal job, then," Bell said, saluting me. I rolled my eyes, and continued my trek to my job. Yet, his words stuck to my brain. Customer service, or an adviser to the gods, which probably came attached with immortality and a bunch of powers. What choice would you make? Any normal person would pick the latter. But I wasn't normal anymore.

I got to the building, and swore, I saw Bell hanging out in the distance, a smug look on his face. I told myself to ignore him. I was done with Poptropica.

Or, at least, I could pretend I was.

I turned back to him, one last time. We stared at each other for a long time.

No.

I went inside the building.

No.

I found the manager, the one who was going to hire me.

 _No_.

I followed him to an office.

_No!_

"Ms Manchester, is it?" he asked. "Take a seat."

_NO!_

I sat down.

**NO!**

"What will you offer to our company?" the manager asked.

_**NO!** _

I frowned, my chest tight. "Nothing. Because I've changed my mind."

"Pardon?" the manager asked.

"Bell, are you there?" I asked, opening a window. "Maybe I'll… be an adviser after all."

Bell smiled. "Looks like you found your world after all."

I smiled back. And everything went white.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I guess this is the end? I'll be making an epilogue at some point. Ugh, this sequel sucks lol. I just lost motivation and it went downhill. Maybe at some point I'll rewrite it. Sorry to disappoint you.


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